Harry Potter and the Heir of Slytherin
by shaki-em13
Summary: I started writting it before book 6 came out Harry is coming to Hogwarts for his last year. He gets to know a certain Slytherin girl better. What will happen between them and what's so special about her?
1. On the way to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling (except for my OC).

**A/N**: This is my first fanfic and I'm not very good at writing but I hope you'll enjoy it.

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* * *

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**Harry Potter and the Heir of Slytherin**

**1. On the way to Hogwarts**

There it was. The Hogwarts Express. Harry Potter looked at the red train. It was the last time he would ride on it to Hogwarts. Harry was now in seventh year, his last. As he looked around platform 9 3/4, he thought about the first time he saw the train. Then he had been really exited that he was a wizard, that he had finally found the place he belonged.

But now it was different. Harry wished he wasn't a wizard. There was nothing good about it. Maybe it had been funny during the first three years, but after Voldemort returned there had been nothing but darkness and death. First died Cedric Diggory and then a year later Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, the one person, who Harry loved the most. After Sirius' death he didn't know what to do. His trust in Dumbledore had changed. Harry didn't believe that everything was going to be good anymore. He didn't want to be the one to kill Voldemort, he was tired of fighting. He was tired of the magical world. But he couldn't change his life, he had given up trying. Everything he did was automatic. His friends tried to cheer him up, but they couldn't. They didn't understand how he felt, no one did. Harry was trying to act as normal as possible in front of them, because he was fed up with them trying to help him, but inside he was hole. He thought that if he wasn't feeling anything, Voldemort couldn't hurt him again and it was working so far.

"Come, boy, it's almost 11 o'clock!", growled Moody. He, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shakelbolt were his guard. They had come to escort him to the station. Although uncle Vernon hadn't been very happy Harry to have the tree men in his car, he was clever enough not to protest.

Moments later Harry saw Ron standing by the end of the train, talking with his mother. There were also Ginny, Mr Weasley and Tonks, Harry supposed that she was there to look after them.

"Hi, everyone!" said Harry.

"O, hi, mate! You've almost missed the train!" said Ron.

"Well, there was much traffic", explained Harry.

"What?"

"It doesn't matter. Where's Hermione?"

"Prefect carriage. She has to take care of the prefects", answered Ron. "She said that she was coming to see us later."

Hermione had become Head Girl. It hadn't really been a surprise, she was

the best in their year.

"You should get on the train", said Mr Weasley.

"Right. Take care of you and don't get into trouble. And enjoy yourself, it's

your last year, Ron, Harry!", added Mrs Weasley.

Yes, the last and what then, thought Harry.

"'Course, mum! Bye!"

Harry, Ron and Ginny waved goodbye until they couldn't see the others any more.

"How was your summer, Harry?" asked Ron while they were walking to their compartment.

"Stupid as always."

"You should've come to us", said Ginny.

"Yeah. In Sirius' house. I'm not going there again even if my life depended on it!" snapped Harry.

"Sorry!"

"No, it's OK. You couldn't have thought about it", he added sarcastically.

"We're here", said Ron while he was opening the door to the compartment. Harry looked up, there was only Neville inside.

"Hi, Harry!"

"Hello, Neville!"

They had become really good friends with Neville after fifth year. He also wanted to become an auror and he was learning very hard - especially in potions - for it.

* * *

A couple of hours later, while Ginny was talking with Parvati and Lavander, Hermione came in and let herself fall on the free seat next to Ron. 

"How was it, 'Mione?" asked Ron and kissed her cheek. They had become a couple last year, after Ron realised that he was in love with her and told her.

"Terrible!"

Everyone looked at her.

"I can't believe this git was made Head Boy!"

"Malfoy?", asked Ron.

"Yeah. He ruined my whole day. First he explained to me at a great length how better he is than me and then made me do all the work with the fifth year prefects. And he said that I couldn't come to see you, because it was my duty to stay there if something happened and that he would report me if I do it. Fortunately same Slytherin girl came to talk with him and I could get out. I don't know how he got Head Boy, probably paid for it."

"Actually he's almost as good as you Hermione", said Parvati. Hermione glared at her. "It's true." she added a bit apologetic.

"Yes, but you protect him just because he's so 'good looking'", Neville said. This time Parvati glared at him.

"And what if he is?"

"He's a bastard, Parvati, no matter how good looking he is or how good at school", Hermione said firmly.

Harry listened, but wasn't really interested. Of course Draco Malfoy was a bastard, all Slytherins were. It didn't matter if he was Head Boy or not, after all it was just school - nothing really important.


	2. The new Slytherin seeker

**2. The new Slytherin seeker**

On the next morning Harry walked in the Great Hall with Ron. He was in a bad mood; he had had nightmares the night before. It was like every night, but he had somehow hoped that would change in Hogwarts, but it had been the same nightmares, which he had had since Sirius dead.

Ron and Harry sat across of Hermione on the Gryffindor table.

"Morning you two!" she said from behind her book.

"Morning", mumbled Harry.

"Morning, darling. Have you had a good sleep?" said Ron.

Hermione looked up and smiled at Ron, but when she saw Harry's expression, hers became worried.

"Is something wrong, Harry?"

"Nothing", he lied. Hermione didn't believe it, but she didn't dare to go on with the topic.

As they were almost finished with their breakfast, Professor McGonagall went a long the Gryffindor table and handed them their time tables.

"We have Transfiguration the whole morning. Why for so long?", wondered Ron.

"Every subject will be four hours long", explained Hermione.

"Even Potions?"

"Especially Potions. This year we'll have to brew some potions which need more time."

"Why did I chose Potions?", moaned Ron.

"I thought you wanted to become an auror."

"I hope being an auror is worth potions. And why did you chose it, you don't want to be an auror?"

"Well it's a really important subject and..."

"... you just wanted to learn as much as possible."

"No! I..." Hermione began a little angry.

"I'm going now, but you can stay here and argue 'til lunch, I'll excuse you by McGonagall", Harry interrupted and went off to Transfiguration.

Both Ron and Hermione looked a bit shocked after the mentioning of their Head of House, they stood up quickly and went after Harry.

* * *

Transfiguration passed without much talking between the trio. First Professor McGonagall talked about the N.E.W.T.s and then they made a revision.

At the end of the lesson McGonagall wanted to speak with Ron about quidditch since he was made Captain the previous year.

After lunch the trio was walking to the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom.

"I wonder why we have a new teacher this year", said Hermione.

"Professor McMahon has disappeared during the holidays, no one knows where he is", said Ron.

"How do you know?"

"I asked McGonagall."

"Oh. Anyway I hope the new teacher is as good as him, we need a good teacher for the N.E.W.T.s."

"Yeah, but what I can't understand is why we have this class with the Slytherins. They don't even need it."

Ron and Hermione continued to talk until they reached the classroom. It has been this way since last year. Ron and Hermione talked and Harry listened or thought about something else.

As they walked in almost everybody were there. Ron and Hermione sat on a desk in the first row and Harry behind them next to Neville. As the bell rang the teacher came in. It was a woman, about forty with short dark brown hair.

"Good afternoon. I'm Professor Rush. You should know that I won't allow bad work in my class. If you want to pass your N.E.W.T.s you'll have to work very hard, otherwise you can go now."

She looked at the students, no one moved.

"Good. First I'll have to disarrange you."

She looked around once more.

"You", she said to Seamus", sit next to that boy in the 3rd row, left."

Hermione was seated with some Slytherin boy, Ron sat next to Crabbe and Harry had to sit with a black haired girl from Slytherin, where Malfoy had been sitting before he had to sit with Pansy Parkinson. Only Neville and Lavender and Malfoy and Pansy were sitting with someone from their house after Professor Rush finished. The rest of the class was spend with a revision.

* * *

At dinner Harry was in the same bad mood, but since he felt like this almost all the time, he didn't care to improve it. He was just thinking about his nightmares, when Ron called his name for the fourth time.

"What?", he asked as he looked at Ron.

"I want to talk with you about the quidditch cup. It's our last chance to win it", answered the redhead.

"Gryffindor won it the last three times."

"Yes, but this year we'll have a different team, we have to train more."

"We only need a new beater, it won't be so difficult", Harry said.

"Malfoy has made many changes in his team, almost everyone's new. McGonagall told me that he had already chosen the new players and she thinks that he would do anything to win this year."

"Whatever he does he can't be a better seeker than Harry, so Slytherin have no chance", Hermione added and Harry nodded.

"Well, as I said he has made many changes, he isn't the seeker anymore, he's the keeper. Slytherin has a new seeker."

"What?"

"Who?"

"A girl. Her name was.. Elena Santos, I think."

"Who?" Harry asked again.

"The girl that sits next to you in Defence against the Dark Arts", Parvati broke into.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at her confused.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked her.

"As me and Parvati asked Professor McGonagall at the beginning of last year if she could tell us who was the best at the O.W.L.s she told us that Elena Santos was the best", Lavender said.

"No chance Hermione is the best in our year", Ron said.

"That's what we thought too and so we asked McGonagall about it. She said that that girl had always been the best in all tests. She had eleven Outstandings and Hermione ten."

"But…"

"Why isn't she Head Girl then, if she's better than me", Hermione maenad.

"She didn't want to be a prefect in the first place so she couldn't become Head Girl."

"Why did Malfoy took as a seeker? In the last six years there's never been a girl in the Slytherin team."

For the first time in as while Harry was really interested in a conversation.

"We think that they are together."

"I thought he was going out with Parkinson."

"No, Hermione. He would never go out with that cow."

"Sure", Hermione said sceptical.

"Of course he wouldn't! She is ugly and stupid, nothing like him."

"Oh, so Malfoy isn't ugly and stupid?"

"He isn't. He's one of the best looking guys in Hogwarts - you can't denied it Hermione - and he is the smartest."

"Yeah, he's so intelligent. That's why he's going to be a death eater", Hermione said.

Parvati glared at her and turned to talk with Lavender.

"I hope Malfoy made that girl seeker only because she's his girlfriend and not because she's good", Ron said and with that the topic was finished.

Harry thought about the girl. She didn't seem to be so intelligent or to be a good quidditch player and she surely didn't look like Malfoy's girlfriend. But he hadn't really looked at her, maybe he should do it next time he saw her.


	3. Defence against the Dark Arts

**3. Defence against the Dark Arts**

_ Harry saw Sirius fall behind the __veil__. He called his name, but Sirius had disappeared. Then there was a flash of green light and he saw Hermione's dead body fell on the ground. Her eyes were wide open but empty. And after another flash of green light Ron fell dead. Harry could hear a freezing laughter, Voldemort's laughter. _

Harry woke up with a start. He had had another nightmare. But since he had them almost every night, they weren't affecting him that much like they once had. Normally Harry wasn't sleeping much, only a couple of hours. It was hard to fall asleep and if he did, he had nightmares about Voldemort, Sirius or his friends. Because of this lack of sleep Harry had become almost as white as a ghost. But he didn't feel a need to sleep more; actually he never did more than he needed to stay alive.

Harry stood up and changed into his school robes. Everybody in the room was still sleeping. It was an hour till breakfast and Harry decided to go to the lake and sit there until it was time for breakfast. He loved to sit there and watch the water, while there was no one else. It was really relaxing, he thought. He could just sit there without anyone annoying him and almost without thinking.

* * *

After breakfast Harry, Ron and Hermione were headed towards the DADA classroom. 

"I'm glad it's Friday. The week was awful. Why did Snape have to give us such a long essay about some stupid potion? I don't even know if I can do it at once and we have homework in Transfiguration and Charms and quidditch practice on Sunday. There won't be any time to sleep and eat this weekend."

"Ohh, stop complaining Ron. We have N.E.W.T.s this year; it won't be easy at all. And no one forced you to take Potions. You chose it yourself", Hermione told him annoyed.

"I need Potions to become an auror."

"You can be something else."

"No! I'm going to be an auror and if it's the last thing I do."

Hermione laughed at Ron's face when he said it, but stooped because they had reached the classroom.

They walked in and Harry saw that almost everybody was there. He saw Elena Santos sitting on their desk, looking out of the window. As he sat next to her, she didn't even move. He took the opportunity to look at her closer. Her black hair was tide in a long braid. She had dark eyes, but he wasn't sure what colour they were and her skin was pale. She was looking like a normal girl. On her robes was the Slytherin crest, but he couldn't remember her doing something mean to him or someone else like the other Slytherins. Actually Harry couldn't remember to have ever seen her before. And that was really odd since he had had Potions and other subjects with her in the last six years and if she was one of Malfoy's friends, he should've seen her.

But before Harry could continue his train of thoughts, Professor Rush came in. Elena turned her head to the front of the classroom and Harry did the same.

"Good morning! Today we're going to learn the ways to get into a chamber which had been cast an occultating spell", the Professor began.

She listed some occultating spells, but Harry couldn't understand neither what an occultating spell was nor had he ever heard of those spells. And he was shocked. Harry had always been very good in DADA, but that woman spoke so strange that he thought that he was listening to some high educated professor talking about physics.

While Harry was trying to understand Rush, he glanced at Elena. For Harry's amazement she was looking out of the window again, with the same dreamy expression. Why isn't she listening, he thought, it's not like this is something everyone knows. But he decided that it was better to turn his attention to the teacher.

"Does anyone know the effects of the sanguinea spell? Ten points for the right answer", she said.

No one raised their hand, even Hermione. Professor Rush looked at the students and her eyes stopped at Elena, she smirked.

"Miss Santos?"

Elena looked at her a little surprised. Harry was sure that the girl had no idea what was going on and Rush seemed to be very pleased with herself. However, Harry saw Elena look at Malfoy for a couple of seconds and then back at Rush.

"Although you can see the door of the hidden room, the only way to open it is to touch the door with blood on your hand, the blood of the person who made the spell", Elena answered.

Rush was speechless, she just stared at the girl.

"That was the right answer, wasn't it?" Elena asked the teacher with a smile.

"Ahm… Yes. Ten points for Slytherin", Rush walked to her desk and continued with the lesson.

Harry saw Elena smile briefly at Malfoy and then she turned to look out of the window again.

_What happened? I'm pretty sure she didn't hear the question, but she answered it right. Maybe Malfoy told her the answer. No. He didn't even open his mouth._

Harry was really curious and the fact that Elena continued her daydreaming made him even more curious. This girl wasn't normal at all, but he couldn't figure out why exactly.

* * *

"Hermione, what was Rush talking about in DADA?" Ron asked his girlfriend. 

"Didn't you listen? I thought it was your favourite subject?"

"I did! But what are occultating spells? I didn't understand a word. Explaining isn't Rush's thing."

"Occultating spells are occultating spells, what's so hard to understand?"

Ron glared at her.

"And what do they do?"

"I think with them you can hide things", Harry said.

"Hide things? The whole lesson she's been talking about hiding things! She should take English lessons."

It was true that Rush spoke strange but Elena and Malfoy seemed to understand her. Maybe it was something you could learn only in rich pure blooded families, Harry thought.

* * *

It was the middle of October. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room and were learning for their DADA test the next day. The few weeks had gone very fast for the trio. They had much homework and Ron and Hermione had also duties as quidditch captain and Head Girl. 

"It's hopeless. I can never remember all this things", Ron moaned.

"You can. It's not that difficult", Hermione tried to cheer him up.

"It's not that difficult? Even you can't understand it. You only memorise everything."

Rush was really strange. All the things she said were as if she had just invented a new DADA world. There was nothing Harry knew about. He only hoped that he could remember all the questions and their answers, because otherwise he would fall the test.

* * *

The next afternoon the Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years were sitting in the DADA classroom and were waiting for Professor Rush. Everyone was nervous, well almost everyone. Elena Santos was looking out of the window as always. 

_Is she mad? She's dreaming all the time and nevertheless she seems to know everything. Or maybe I'm getting crazy and this stuff isn't difficult at all._

Rush was at their desk and gave them the questions and Harry had to concentrate on the test. The only good thing about the test was that they had four hours to do it and Rush had told them that they could leave when they were finished.

And so an hour and a half later Elena stood up, packed her things, gave Rush her test and left the room. Ten minutes later Malfoy finished too. Now, that was weird. How could they have finished it so quickly? Harry had the half of the questions done and no one else seemed to be at the end.

_How do they do this? Is it with dark magic? No of course not, there're no such spells - dark or not. But how? Oh, my head's aching! I should continue with the bloody test. But on the other hand I can't answer the other questions anyway._

With that thought Harry stood up, handed his test and left. He didn't see the smirk on Rush's face when she looked at his answers.

* * *

On Friday Professor Rush gave them the test back. Harry had only 45 per cent. 

_With such marks there's no way to become an auror. But the way Rush is teaching us, you could think that she doesn't want us to be good in DADA. She's probably from Voldemort's people._

At that thought Harry smirked. It was impossible for a death eater to get in Hogwarts and teach DADA. But otherwise Barty Crouch Jr. did it.

"I'm really disappointed with you. Only a few got more than 50 per cent. And how do you think you're going to pass the N.E.W.T.s?" Rush started. "It seems that you aren't old enough to learn properly alone. So I decided that in future you're going to study in a group of two. And to make it easier for you to work your partner will be the student you're sitting with. Every lesson I'm going to give you homework which you have to do together."

* * *

"She's insane! It will be much easier to learn with Crabbe? Now I have to do his homework too." 

Ron was furious. He didn't even eat properly at dinner.

"Ron, there's nothing you can do about it. Please, calm down", Hermione said.

"I know, but the last thing I need now is to study with Crabbe. And without him I have only 33 per cent. He'll probably infect me with his stupidity."

"How much per cent do you have, Hermione?", asked Harry.

"What? Oh, 84 per cent. You?"

"45 per cent"

"Hermione has only 84 per cent! Well that's your proof - Rush is insane", Ron said seriously.

Yes. That was really not normal. What did Rush do? Why couldn't anyone learn properly? No, there was Elena. She could do everything, but why? How many per cent did she get on the test? Maybe it was good that he had to work with her. That would be a good chance to answer all his questions. It was a shame that Rush hadn't given them homework; he had to wait until Monday.


	4. Learning sessions

**4. Learning sessions**

On Tuesday at breakfast Harry ate his toast with marmalade lost in thought as always. However this time he wasn't thinking about Voldemort. No, all he could think about was his meeting with Elena Santos after classes. Rush had given them homework the day before and told them to do it together. After the lesson Harry had asked Elena when they could meet to do it. She had told him they could meet the next day at six in the library. And so it was, he was going to see her at six. Harry wondered how it would be. Was she just as arrogant as all Slytherins or not? She probably was, if she was friends with Malfoy. But on the other hand maybe she was nice. And maybe he could finally find out why she acted so strange in DADA. And why she was friends with Malfoy or if they really were together, not that it was important, bur interesting in a way. And…

"Begin with the potion and be very careful what you do", Snape's voice rang in Harry's ears. He blinked twice. He hadn't noticed that he was already in class.

* * *

At six Harry was sitting on a table in the back of the library. He had taken out parchment and a quill of his bag and was waiting for Elena. He heard the door open and her footsteps before he saw her. She was wearing her school uniform, she looked as always. Harry thought that if he had seen her in a group of students, and didn't know her, he wouldn't have paid any attention to her. 

"Hi!"

"Hello!"

Elena sat across of him and took the things she needed out of her school bag.

"So.. I think one of us should do the first part, the other the second. That way we'll be finished much quicker", she said while she did it.

"Yeah… right"

"Which part do you want?"

"Ahmm.. Actually I have no idea what's the homework about."

Elena looked at him puzzled. He looked in her eyes for the first time. _She has black eyes, pitch black like her hair._

"I thought you have fought them a couple of times against them?"

"Against who?"

"The dementors."

"What dementors?.. I mean what do they have to do with our homework?"

"We have to write what they are, what they do and how they can be defeated."

Harry looked at her surprised.

"Rush used their other name, when she gave us the homework. Don't you know that every dark spell and creature has two names?"

Harry shook his head.

"The one everybody uses and the second the dark wizards like to use. Rush uses the second, don't know why. But if you didn't know this how did you do the test? You can't memorize everything, can you?"

"Not really. I tried, but I had only 45 per cent. So, you mean that Rush's only using other names for everything and because of that I can't understand anything?"

"Yeah, or don't you know what's a dementor?"

"Of course I do!"

"Fine. Then I'll write what it is and about it's effects and you'll write how it can be defeated. When we're finished I'm going to read and correct yours and you mine."

"OK."

While Harry wrote his part of the essay, he didn't look at Elena even once. He didn't know why but he wanted to do his best and looking at her would have only distracted him. When he finished writing he looked at her. Elena was still writing but not on the essay, it wasn't in English. She felt his gaze on her and looked up.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes."

He handed her his parchment and took hers, which wasn't really parchment but a piece of paper and she had written the text with a blue pen.

_Wizards don't use pens or paper. Why does she? All Slytherins hate muggle stuff and as Malfoy's girlfriend she should be one of the worst muggle haters. Does he know that she uses muggle things? No, surely not. She isn't that stupid to show a death eater's son how much muggle stuff she has. But if she isn't like him, why are they so close? How close are they anyway? Is she really his girlfriend? I can't believe that she would want to go out with someone like Malfoy if she's so smart._

"Did you read it already?", he heard Elena's voice.

"What? I... no, I got lost in thought.. Sorry!"

Their eyes locked for a moment and she smiled.

"It's OK."

After Harry corrected it - there were only two spelling mistakes – he gave it to her.

"Who is going to write it down now?", he asked her.

Elena smiled again. A really sweet smile, like a little girl's, Harry thought. She took parchment and a quill out of her bag. Then she put the parchment over her text, said some spell Harry couldn't understand and her quill began to copy the text on it's own.

"Wow. That's a really cool spell."

"Yes and very helpful. You can go now if you want. I'll take the essay with me when it's finished", she told him.

"Oh.. OK then. Bye!"

Harry didn't want to leave but he couldn't think of a good reason to stay with Elena. So he stood up packed his things and left the library. Their meeting didn't help answer any of his previous questions, however, now he knew that there was something about Elena that fascinated him. He didn't know what but he was determined to find out. And at least he had someone, who could really help him with Rush's DADA.

* * *

"Hi ,Harry! How was it?", Hermione asked him when he entered the Gryffindor common room. 

"Not bad."

"What do you think, is she good at quidditch?", Ron asked.

"Don't know, we just wrote our homework together."

"Together? I told Crabbe that I would write our essay alone. It's better than just a couple of minutes with him."

"Well, Elena was nice. I wrote one part and she the other, she also made some spell and her quill copied everything in the end."

"How could you write a part of the essay? Yesterday you said that you had no idea what it was about."

"I didn't, but she explained it to me, it was very easy."

Hermione and Ron looked at him sceptically.

"It was about dementors. And I had to write how to defeat them. You know that I can do it since third year."

"Dementors? Since when are we learning about dementors?", Ron asked.

"Oh, yeah. Elena told me that Rush's using other names for everything and that's the reason we have no idea what she's talking about."

Now Ron looked even more puzzled than before Harry's explanation.

"What do you mean with other names?", Hermione asked.

"Elena said that every dark spell and creature has two names and Rush's using the names we don't know."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"Wait a minute. You mean that that girl has explained everything to you. Are you sure she isn't lying, she's a Slytherin after all?"

"Of course she isn't lying! And I told you that she was nice, nothing like the other Slytherins. I'm tired. Good night!"

Harry wasn't really tired, but he didn't want to talk about Elena with Ron and Hermione anymore. How could they think that she was lying? Only because she was in Slytherin didn't mean that she was bad.

_But on the other hand I don't know any one from Slytherin who's really nice. And she's friends with Malfoy, or maybe they're not? No. They are friends, he made her seeker and that in DADA. They were also sitting together before Rush's new sitting plan. But she seemed too nice to be one of Malfoy's friends and the muggle things she has. If they're really friends she should hate me and not help me with my homework. How comes that although she's one of his friends I can't remember to have ever really "seen" her before? Why did he made her seeker, it's like officially declaring that he can't beat me? Is she good at flying? I mean she couldn't be so good at school and at quidditch and so nice and in Slytherin. But…_

Harry fell asleep even before any other of the boys came in, but he couldn't continue his thoughts of Elena in his dreams, because Voldemort was there again.

* * *

"You should be glad that the Slytherins will train tomorrow morning. Didn't you say that you have a mountain of homework?", Hermione told Ron. 

"Glad? Are you going to be glad when Malfoy wins the cup?"

"Of course not, but one training won't change anything, Ron."

It was Friday evening Harry and Hermione were sitting in their common room and Ron had just come in and told Harry that they wouldn't play quidditch the following day.

"And what if he does it every Saturday?"

"Then you'll have to tell McGonagall when you want to train a couple of days earlier, even Malfoy can't occupy the pitch the whole year."

Ron wasn't really happy about it but he decided not to talk about it anymore. Harry thought like Hermione and he was also a bit glad that now he could do what ever he wanted the whole weekend. Well except of his meeting with Elena Santos the next day. Harry had given up trying to understand her , it didn't took him anywhere. Nothing about her made any sense, it was hopeless to figure something out.

* * *

In the afternoon on Saturday Harry was in the library again, waiting for Elena. The whole morning he had been sitting on a bench near the lake far away from everybody. He knew that he should have done some of his homework, but he didn't care. 

"Hallo, Harry!", Elena greeted him with a smile.

"Hi!", Harry couldn't do anything but smile back. She seemed to be in a very good mood. "How was your quidditch training?"

"What.. Oh. Draco said that it was pretty good."

"And what do you think?"

"Don't know. I wasn't there."

"You wasn't there? Aren't you Slytherin's new seeker?"

"Yes, but yesterday I went to sleep at two in the morning because of my homework. I woke up half an hour before lunch and Draco would never come to wake me up, if it isn't really important."

"You don't have to go to training every time?"

"No, we have a deal with Draco that I have to train at least once per week, when I want."

"But why? I mean don't you want to win the cup?"

"Of course, but I don't want to train that much. You know, quidditch isn't exactly my favourite sport."

"Why do you play it then?"

Elena laughed shortly.

"For years Draco has been telling me almost everyday that I should play and I was so fed up with it that I agreed to be the seeker."

"But you're good, aren't you?"

"My mum thaught me how to fly when I was five and since then I've been flying very often, but only for myself not to train quidditch or something like that. I love flying, but quidditch's a bit too brutal for me", she smiled at him again. "However, I think that we should begin with our homework, otherwise we'll be sitting here till dinner. Or do you have any other questions?", Elena added still smiling.

"N-no. You're right, we should start writing."

Did she know how many questions he had or was it just a meaningless question? Would she answer all his questions? No, even if, he couldn't ask her such things, it was stupid. Maybe next time he would learn something more about her.


	5. Slytherins and Muggles

**5. Slytherins and Muggles**

In the beginning of December the first couple of quidditch matches were over. Gryffindor played against Ravenclaw and won of course. However, the Slytherins beat Hufflepuff with more points, so that they were first for the moment. Harry watched Elena fly, she wasn't very good. Well actually it wasn't necessary since Hufflepuff's seeker was really bad. Harry knew that if she played like that against him, he would win without a doubt, but he didn't think that she had shown everything she could. Actually Harry thought that she never did more than necessary.

It had been almost two months since their first meeting and he still didn't know what she was really like. Naturally they talked about school and such things and she always acted very friendly towards him, but he had a feeling that she was hiding something. There were too many contrasts. On one hand she talked with him like with a friend but on the other she was friends with Malfoy, Harry was now absolutely sure of that. She called him Draco and according to what she said about him it seemed that they knew each other very well. However, she didn't act like him, not a bit. And there was also that sometimes she seemed to know exactly what he was feeling, strangely though it wasn't uncomfortable for him. Harry really enjoyed the time with Elena, she was different from his friends. It was nice to know that she didn't care about everything he did and why he had done it. He had always had to be careful what he was doing, because he knew that others and even his friends would judge it afterwards. Elena didn't treat him like Harry Potter, the boy who lived, but like a normal boy.

* * *

"What are going to do during the holidays, Harry?", Elena asked him. 

It was Friday evening and they were sitting in the library.

"I'll stay in Hogwarts."

"Why don't you go to your aunt?"

"I've never been there during the Christmas holidays and if it was possible, I would prefer to stay in Hogwarts during the summer too."

"Is it that bad there?"

"You have no idea. But why do you think I should go there for the holidays?"

"I just thought that you could need some rest from the magical world. I wouldn't survive if I had to live this way the whole time and you also have to fight against Voldemort ."

"In the moment I don't have to do much about that matter, but what do you mean with you wouldn't survive it?"

"The magical world can be so boring at times, the modern muggle world's much more exciting."

"But you… you really thing like that about the muggle world?"

"Yes, why not? Because I'm in Slytherin?", she laughed. "You see that's one thing I don't like about our world. Prejudice like Slytherins have been bad for centuries, so they still are. No one would think that that the time may have changed and even if everyone else would call him crazy. Even you. You know that there's a magical world only for six years, but you think that no Slytherin could like the muggle world and you don't really know any Slytherins well."

"You don't want to tell me that Malfoy or any of his friends like muggles."

"Not everything is the way it seems. Of course you see only the bad things the Slytherins do, it's a self fulfilling prophecy."

"A what?"

"A self fulfilling prophecy. It's a term from muggle psychology. You think that the Slytherins are bad, so you only see the bad things in them, because the good don't match your image of them."

"Maybe, but.."

"Draco is my best friend and I really do like the muggle world, so your theory can't be true."

"Your best friend?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why is he my best friend?"

Harry nodded.

"It's just like that."

With that Elena ended their conversation and returned to her homework. Harry didn't dare ask further questions, because he feared that she would get angry at him. And that was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

* * *

Harry didn't know what to think anymore. Was Elena right? Was the magical world so full of prejudice? It was clear that Voldemort and his followers hated everything not magical, but were the others also led by such prejudice? Wasn't he a victim of them? In second year when the other students had found out that he could speak with sneaks, he had turned from the boy who lived into a mad killer in just a day. Was it really possible that Draco Malfoy's best friend liked the muggle world? Such questions went through Harry's head very often in the following two weeks since that Friday evening. He had no real answer to any of them, but he wondered if Elena did. Since that evening they hadn't spoken of anything but their homework and Harry wasn't sure if she wasn't angry with him after all. 

It was Wednesday and their last meeting before the holidays was to begin in 15 minutes. Harry thought about it. He had become used to seeing Elena twice a week and now they wouldn't meet for more than two weeks. He didn't know what he was going to do during the holydays anyway. Ron and Hermione were going to spent Christmas with the Weasleys and New Year with Hermione's parents. They had invited him too, but Harry didn't want to disturb their first Christmas as a couple. Most of the students were going home – all of his Gryffindor friends, which meant that he was going to be pretty lonely during the holidays.

* * *

Again Elena had finished her part of their homework faster than Harry. He looked at her. She was writing something else. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask her about it but he did. 

"A letter to my mum, why?"

"I just wondered, it's not in English."

"No. She isn't from England."

"But you speak English perfectly."

"My father was from here and my mum can speak English just as good as me but I prefer to write to her in Bulgarian."

"She's from Bulgaria?"

"Yes. I've grown up there."

"And why did you come to Hogwarts, isn't it quiet far away from Bulgaria?"

Elena smiled.

"I know, but it's kind of a tradition. Anyway, since you you're going to stay in Hogwarts for the holidays, can I show you something some day?"

"You want to show me something?"

"Yeah. In my opinion you really need some fun and I think you'll enjoy it."

"OK."

"Cool. What about the 28th?"

"Alright."

She smiled again. Harry really liked it when she smiled like that.

"Are you finished with the essay, Harry?"


	6. December 28th

**6. December 28****th**

While he ate his breakfast on the 28th of December, Harry wondered probably for the millionth time what Elena was going to show him. But now that he thought about it, he realised that they hadn't made any further arrangements than the "28th". When was he supposed to meet her? How long would this showing take place? Harry looked at the Slytherin table, Elena wasn't there. He couldn't remember seeing her for a while. She hadn't exactly said that she was staying at Hogwarts for the holydays. He had assumed that she was since she wanted to see him. But what if it was all a joke? Or did she forget about their meeting?

This thoughts made Harry lose his appetite. However, he decided to return to his room and don't go out till dinner an owl flew in the Great Hall and dropped a letter in front of him. He opened the letter and read:

_"Meet me by the Room of Requirement at 10, _

_Elena"_

* * *

It was already 9 past 10 and still no sign of her. It was very cold in the corridor and Harry was starting to think that it must all be a joke again. Elena wasn't going to come. He didn't see what was so funny about making him stand there, waiting for someone who wouldn't come, but Malfoy's imagination has never been that good. Would somebody else come and make fun of him because he had been stupid enough to trust a Slytherin? 

Harry glared at the at the place where the door of the room of requirement should appear when you needed it. In the same moment the door did appear and was opened from the inside.

"Hi, Harry! I'm sorry I made you wait, but I had totally forgotten that the door disappears when you go inside. Come in!"

Elena was standing before him smiling apologetically. She wasn't wearing her school uniform, the first time Harry was seeing her without it. She had light blue jeans on and a white shirt with silver and blue lines painted on the front. _She looks great, nice figure and.. I shouldn't be thinking like that about her, it's.._

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Won't you come in?"

"Yeah, of course. I was just…", Harry trailed off and decided that it was better to just go inside.

The room was warm and not very big. The floor was covered with very dark purple carpet, the walls were white and decorated with big photos of beautiful, snowy landscapes. And there was even a small Christmas tree in one corner. Before the wall on Harry's left a big TV was standing with a DVD player and a stereo next to it. Across from them were two big, white and cosy armchairs with very colourful pillows and a small table between them. On the back side of the room there was a couch with a bigger table in front of it. The room of requirement looked like a picture of a modern muggle living room taken from one of the best home design magazines, as far as Harry could tell.

"How did you do all of this?"

"I love decorating and the room of requirement makes everything exactly the way you want it, it was great fun doing it. Do you like it?"

"Very much, but why did you wanted to show me this room?"

"I didn't want to just show you the room, I made it for you, for your day off."

"Off what?"

"Your problems in the magical world. Today you have to forget about everything bad and just relax."

"Are you going to leave me here?"

"Of course not. I'll personally take care that you don't think about it. Sit down. Would you like some hot chocolate or something else?"

"Hot chocolate, thank you. Are we going to stay here the whole day?"

"Till dinner maybe. If you don't want to, you're free to leave whenever you want."

"I don't think I will, this seems to be hundreds times better than sitting alone in my room. Does the TV work?"

"Oh yes, but only for watching DVDs it can't catch any TV programmes."

"I thought that muggle gadgets didn't work in Hogwarts."

"They don't, but those things are a bit bewitched", Elena grinned. "I thought that we could start relaxing by watching a funny Christmas movie, it's a bit childish but it doesn't matter. What do you say?"

"I suppose I'll be doing everything you say today."

Elena beamed at him. She went behind his armchair and took two cups of hot chocolate from the cabinet. She gave Harry the one and the other she put on the table next to her armchair. Then she sat down, turned the TV on and started the DVD player. The movie was called "The Santa Clause ". Harry hadn't heard of it, but that wasn't such a big deal since he hadn't been allowed to watch much TV at the Dursley's and had never been to the cinema in his life. The armchair was very comortable and the hot chocolate made him forget the cold outside. He decided to just relax, like Elena had said, don't think about Voldemort or anything connected to him and see what would happen.

* * *

"That was a really amusing movie. Especially When he stared to get fat and to eat only cookies and drink milk. And his hair and beard, that was actually a bit like the time when my aunt cut all my hair", Harry smiled at the memory. 

"Why did she want to cut all your hair?"

"She hated it, she still does I suppose. She cut all of it except of the fringe. It looked really, really awful. I was very upset, but on the next morning when I woke up it had grown again - then my aunt became very upset", Harry laughed, not mentioning that he had been locked up for a week after the incident.

"Well, I definitely like your hair the way it is. Are you hungry?"

"Now that you mentioned it. I hadn't noticed that it was already time for lunch. Are we going to go to the Great Hall?"

"No. We can eat here, it's much more comfortable. I'll just call my house elf, she'll bring us everything."

"_Your _house elf?"

"Yes. I mean…", Elena looked at Harry as if comprehending what she should tell him then she continued. "_My_ house elf. I take her with me everywhere I go."

"Does Dumbledore know?"

"Of course he does or do you think that I'm smuggling house elves? She helps the Hogwarts elves most of the time. Do you have something against house elves?"

"No", Harry thought that this wasn't the right time to discuss Hermione's ideas about house elves with Elena.

"Pimki!"

"Yes, mistress?", the house elf appeared with a loud pop.

It's skin was bluish and it wore a white pillowcase - with small Christmas trees in different colours on it -, which was tide on it's waist with a blue ribbon matching it's skin, and something like short woollen socks. All in all it was the best dressed house elf Harry had ever seen.

"Pimki, we would like to have lunch. You know what I want and – Harry, what would you like for lunch?"

"I don't know. Same as you?"

"OK, you can bring the food immediately, Pimki."

"Of course, mistress", and the elf disappeared.

In a few minutes everything was served on the table in the back of the room. Harry looked at the food as they sat down on the couch.

"Are does Bulgarian dishes?"

"My favourite Christmas food. If you don't like it, I can always tell Pimki to bring you something from Hogwart's kitchen", Elena took his cup and looked at the content. "She has brought you sauerkraut juice too, it's very sour. I'm not sure you'll like it, but we have different drinks in the cabinet over there."

"I think I'll just try everything first."

* * *

After they had had lunch – Harry liked everything, except of the sauerkraut juice, which was really very sour - Elena suggested to watch another movie. 

"Another Christmas movie?", asked Harry.

"Not exactly. It's more or less a kid's movie again, there's much snow in it and it's animated."

"Doesn't sound bad and I've never watched a whole animated movie. What is it's name?"

""Ice Age". There's a mammoth, a Saber-toothed tiger and a Ground sloth and they have to take care of a human baby, it's very funny."

After "Ice Age" they watched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and afterwards played monopoly while listening to muggle Christmas songs.

* * *

"Isn't it time for dinner?", asked Harry while he stretched after they had finished their second game of monopoly. 

"You're right, I'll call Pimki."

"What are we going to eat this time?"

"According to my plan we're going to move away from the Christmas theme for now. What do you think about pizza?"

"Sounds great."

"And I would also say that we could eat our pizzas while we watch the next movie."

"You're the boss."

Elena smiled. "Pimki!"

"Mistress?"

"Could you bring us the pizzas. Harry you like salami, don't you?"

"Yep."

"And, Pimki, after that you're free for tonight."

"Are you sure that you won't need anything else, mistress?", the house elf asked concerned.

"Absolutely sure, you can do whatever you want."

"Yes, mistress."

"What are we going to watch now, Elena?"

"You can call me Ellie, we're friends now, aren't we? We're going to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"."

"A very long name, _Ellie_.", Harry felt something strange - but not bad - when she said that they were friends.

"Yeah, I know, but it's a great movie. One of my favourite movies ever. It was inspired by a ride at a Disney theme park and the actor who plays the "main" pirate is the one who played Willy Wonka in the last movie we saw. He's just brilliant."

* * *

"So did you like it?" 

"It was amazing. Jack Sparrow was hilarious, but the monkey was the best."

"Yeah, such a sweet monkey, however, when it shows it's teeth you wouldn't want to be near it."

"Exactly. Ellie can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, but I can't promise that I'll answer it, although when I think about probably I will. Ask!"

"Why do you watch movies?"

"They're entertaining. A very simple question, Harry."

"I meant why do you do it since it's a muggle activity or better why are you so interested in the muggle world? You come from an old wizarding family, don't you?"

"I do. When my aunt Evelyna married a muggle she was disowned by Grandmother, they've never been on very good terms even before that. However, my mum was allowed to stay in contact, in fact as time passed by Grandmother stared to admit that muggles aren't that bad. Their relationship's never been better, though Grandmother will never accept my aunt as her first heir again. But my actual point was that aunt Evelyna sent her two sons to muggle school before they were old enough for wizarding. When I was little and me and my mum visited my aunt I played with them and the older one – who's also a couple of years older than me – always said how much fun he had in his muggle school, so I decided that I wanted to go there too. Fortunately my mum didn't mind much and I went to muggle school till I became 11. I don't know how to explain it, but I never thought of choosing just one world. I've been living in both worlds for almost all my life - I was even born in a muggle hospital in London. Both has their pros and contras, but why should I have to live only in the wizarding world just because I'm a witch. I love travelling around the world learning more about the different cultures muggle or wizarding."


	7. The rest of the Christmas break

**7. The rest of the Christmas break**

Harry opened his eyes slowly. He had to blink a couple of times before he realised where he was. The previous night he and Elena had played cards and talked after they had watched "Pirates of the Caribbean". They must have fallen asleep at some point so that now he was leaning on the right end of the couch. Although Harry had been sleeping in a not very comfortable position he felt he had had the best sleep in a while. He couldn't remember what he had been dreaming of, but he hadn't had nightmares that was for sure. Just as he wanted to stand up and stretch, he noticed Elena's feet in his lap – she was lying extended on the couch with a pillow under her head, still sleeping. He picked up her feet carefully and stood up. Elena stirred a little and curled up without waking up. Harry took a glass of water from the cabinet then went back to the couch and sat on the edge of the table in front of it. He watched Elena while drinking water.

_She looks so sweet and innocent right now. How can someone like her be in Slytherin? She likes muggles, she's nice and doesn't act arrogant like the other Slytherins. You could say that she doesn't seem to always follow the rules, but just that isn't a good reason to be in Slytherin. Maybe the sorting hat isn't always right, when I think of Wormtail… She said that we are friends now. Friends. I wonder what would Ron and Hermione say if they knew I've become friends with a Slytherin. I think I shouldn't tell them about it.. for now at least. Ellie's so amazing. And all her ideas, which may seem strange at first, but when you think about it they are just not ordinary and good nevertheless. I've never met someone like her. _Harry looked at his watch. It was almost 1pm. _So late, I should wake her up. Didn't she once said she didn't like being woken up? Anyway, I don't think that she would like to be left to sleep here either._

"Ellie?", Harry nudged her shoulder lightly – no reaction.

"Ellie!", Harry repeated this time a bit louder.

"Mmm", Elena opened one eye. "G'd morning."

"It's more a "good afternoon" I would say."

"What time is it?", she asked with both eyes open.

"One o'clock."

Elena rolled on her back, stretched and then sat up.

"Are you awake for long?"

"Not really. What are we going to do now?"

"I'm afraid that we'll have to leave the room of requirement. As much as I enjoyed the time with you, I have to catch a flight from London and I'm almost late."

"A flight from London!?"

Elena just smiled and continued. "However, it would be nice to do it again if you want of course. Pimki!"

"Yes, it would be, but.."

"Yes, mistress", the house elf appeared.

"Would you take care of everything in here, Pimki, and after that you know what you have to do", Elena said while walking to the other side of the room and taking her cloak off the coat hook. "Harry, you better hurry up and go to the Great Hall before lunch's over, you're probably hungry."

She put her cloak on and opened the door. Harry almost thought that she was just going to leave with that when she turned to him again.

"I hope you'll feel at least a bit better for the rest of the holidays. I'll see you after the break. Bye, Harry!", Elena said smiling, blew him a kiss and walked out if the room closing the door behind her.

Harry was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the closed door with his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Are you OK, Harry Potter?", Pimki asked him worried.

"Yes, I.. I'm fine", with that he left the room still in sort of a trance and headed for the Gryffindor tower. He had to think and if he became hungry, which he doubted though, he could always go to the kitchen.

* * *

_How can she go in and out of Hogwarts just like that? With everything Dumbledore has done to make the school save! i can't beleive it! And then flying from London. I suppose she had to go home, but why on earth did she come here to spend a day with me? However, she probably didn't plan falling asleep and spending the night in the room of requirement. That's why she left so quickly. But if she didn't want it to happen she could've ended it after we saw the last movie. And before she left she didn't even give me a chance to ask or say something. Normally she lets me ask her everything and answers it. That morning she acted like a different person. Not the understanding and caring Elena she's been through our meetings in the last months – everything was so businesslike._

Harry lay awake for a long time that night. It was New Year's Eve, but he couldn't care less. The only thing he wanted at that moment was to find out what was going on in Elena's head.

* * *

On the next morning Harry turned in his bed. He was awake for some time now, but he didn't want to stand up just yet. He tried to think of something that made him happy, hoping he would fall asleep again. However, it seemed that he couldn't think of anything that could do the job. After twenty or so minutes of lying like that, he eventually gave up and sat up. As he took his glasses from the night stand he noticed a small package in red wrapping paper tied with a golden ribbon lying there. Harry took it and opened it carefully. There was a book inside and a card wishing Happy New Year. He immediately looked at the backside of the card – it was from Elena: 

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry I left like that the other day, but I was really in a hurry. I don't know if you're aware how chaotic it is on a airport at this time of the year and if you don't catch your plane, there's a small chance to get on an other in the next couple of days._

_Anyway, in Bulgaria it's custom to give each other presents for New Year too. The book's called "The Three Musketeers" (like you've probably noticed), it's one of my favourite books and the first "serious" novel I've ever read (with all the sequels, which are all longer than this). I hope you'll enjoy it,_

_Ellie_

After reading the card a couple of times Harry looked at the book. He had heard of it of course, but had never actually read it. He stood up, placed the card inside the book and laid it on his bed deciding to begin reading after he had had breakfast.

* * *

A couple of days later Harry was writing the last part of his Christmas homework in the Gryffindor common room. He was almost finished when a crowd of Gryffindors came in. It was the last day before school was to begin again and all the students that had been home for the holidays had just arrived. Harry had actually wanted to finish before they came, but it had taken him more time than he had thought – it was a potions essay, he should have known better. 

"Hey, Harry! How are you?", Ron sat next to him.

"Fine. How was the trip from King's Cross?"

"Neville did.."

"You haven't finished your homework yet?!"

"Nice to see you too, Hermione", Harry said sarcastically.

"I.. I'm sorry, Harry, but we have school again tomorrow and.."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not writing, I just decided to look it over while I was waiting for you", Harry lied easily.

"Don't mind her, Harry. She's a bit over sensitive the last couple of days since she "realised" that we have only a few months till school's over forever", Ron on the other hand looked pretty happy at that fact.

"Oh, Ron! It's not just the end of school, before that we have to do our N.E.W.T.s. If you don't start to learn more now, you'll be much more than "a bit sensitive" when they come. I'll go to my room and change for dinner", Hermione said and left them.

"You don't have a fight again, do you?"

"No, mate. We had a great time during the holidays. We just disagree from time to time, nothing serious."

"Well then. Would you come with me to our dormitory? I have to put away my potions things and you can tell me about Neville", Harry suggested.

"Yep."

* * *

Later that night Harry was laying in his bed finishing his potions essay. He couldn't do it earlier, because Hermione would have noticed that he had lied. All the other boys were fast asleep already, but Harry, who had gotten used to falling asleep late during the holidays, wasn't tired at all. He had spent the last few days reading the book Elena had sent him most of the time. He had finished it just that morning and had realised that he had still had homework to do. The book had been great, it was muggle classic for a good reason. Harry even thought of asking Elena if she could lend him the sequels. However, most of all he was glad that he and Elena were really friends now.

* * *

**A/N: **I won't be able to update very soon since I'll be moving to Austria to begin my first year at the university. But I'll continue to write as soon I get settled there. 


	8. The Malfoy Matter

**A/N**: I'm sorry it took so long, but the last few weeks have been really exhausting. Now I'm more or less settled (though I still don't have internet at home) and the next chapter won't take that long.

* * *

**8. The Malfoy Matter**

Tree days later Harry caught himself staring at the Slytherin table for maybe the twentieth time since the end of brake. After lunch he had Charms and after that he was going to meet Elena in the library to study. The day before in DADA he had been able to talk very less with her. However, after a couple of days of thinking quite a lot about her, Harry had decided to just ask her why she had come to Hogwarts for a day. He wasn't sure how she would react and if she would say anything at all, but he was determined to do it. He was in Gryffindor after all and after everything he had been through, he couldn't be afraid of asking a seventeen-year-old girl something like that. Yes, he would do it no matter what may happen afterwards.

* * *

Harry looked up from his homework. He and Elena had been sitting in the library for a while now, but he still hadn't mentioned the day in the room of requirement. It wasn't as easy as it seemed. He didn't want to loose her friendship and he feared that pressing too much on that matter may draw her away from him. Anyway he had to. He had wondered for so many hours, he just had to know. 

"Ellie?"

She looked up. "Do you have any problems?"

"No. I want to talk with you.. not about the homework."

"About what?"

"About our day in the room of requirement."

"What about it?"

Harry looked at her face, but he couldn't detect any sort of emotion in her. She was just waiting for him to continue, so he did.

"I, I wondered why you did all of it."

"Like I've already told you, I wanted to cheer you up a bit. If I've known that it would bother you so much, I wouldn't have done it."

"No. I mean I'm really glad you did, but it must have taken you some time to plan and organize everything."

"That wasn't a problem at all. I love decorating rooms and watching movies and most of all doing nothing serious, I just gave you a part in it."

"But you weren't at Hogwarts for the holidays, probably not even in England."

"I wasn't."

"Then why did you come back to spend a day with me?"

"Harry. I really like you and I don't think that you deserve any of the bad things that had happened to you. I wanted you to have some fun. Besides I was going to come to England anyways, since I can't fly directly from Bulgaria to the USA and so I just stayed a bit longer than originally planed. You're like Draco right now – thinking everything over at least hundred times."

"What does Malfoy have to do with anything."

"Well, since I've mentioned what I had planned, he hadn't missed a chance to ask me what I've been thinking doing something like that. But to be honest I haven't been thinking that much, it just popped into my mind."

"You've told Malfoy about it?!"

"Yes, I had to explain why we had to postpone everything by a day."

"And he accepted it just like that?"

"Oh, no. First he tried to convince me that it was an absolutely mad idea then he didn't stop repeating how wrong it was and now he still thinks that I should have never done it, but he doesn't mention it that often. I suppose he's got on terms with the fact that I always do what I want."

"So Malfoy doesn't mind us being friends…", _it just can't be_.

"He does, but he has accepted it."

"He hates me."

""hate" is maybe a bit strong, but he surely doesn't like you. Although if you knew each other better.."

"Are you talking about Draco Malfoy?"

"Harry, how many times do I have to tell you that things aren't always what they seem to be. I know that you and Draco have disliked each other since our first day in Hogwarts, but you're both acting so childishly."

"How can you say something like that after everything he's done to me and my friends?"

"It's not like you haven't done anything to him too, but can't we just leave it at that. I don't think we could agree on anything concerning Draco."

"Fine."

"Was this all you wanted to talk with me about?"

"I, what?", that thing with Malfoy had brought Harry totally out of his concept. "Mmm.. How did you got in and out of Hogwarts just like that?"

Elena smiled. "I have my ways, maybe I'll tell you some day."

"I just wondered…"

"No problem, like I said you can ask me everything you want, but I don't guarantee that I'll answer. Something else?"

"Can we do it again?", he hadn't intended to say that at all. He did want to spend more time with Elena, but he never thought of asking for it.

"Of course we can", Harry felt at ease at once. "How about next week on Saturday?"

"Next week…", _more than a week_.

"Well, Saturday seems to be the best day for something like that and as far as I can remember you do have quiditch practice this Saturday, don't you?"

"Yes…" Harry almost said that he wouldn't go, but he could stop himself on time. Skipping quiditch practice to spend time with the Slytherin seeker was a very bad idea. "Next week's fine, we could discuss it later. Now it's time to finish that homework, I suppose."

* * *

Later that night Harry thought about the conversation with Elena. He hadn't exactly found out what he wanted, but what he had found out bothered him very much. 

So Malfoy knew about him and Ellie. Why hadn't he done something to stop it? He surely didn't want his best friend to be friends with him too - Ellie had said so herself. But why hadn't Malfoy even tried to put and end on it? He must have some sort of plan to use their friendship. Exactly! He probably hoped that Harry may tell Ellie something important about Dumbledore's plans, which he could tell Voldemort. It must be that. Harry tried to remember everything he had been talking about with Elena. So far there hadn't really been anything about the order, Dumbledore or Voldemort. However, would Ellie really tell Malfoy something like that if she knew what he would do? She had said so many times that she liked muggles and she even said that she liked him. Why should she want to help Voldemort? She couldn't have lied about everything, it just couldn't be. No. She wasn't pretending that she liked him. But what about Malfoy? Ellie should know him very good and she thought it safe to tell him about her and Harry. Does she really have that much trust in Malfoy that he wouldn't use it against them?

Harry's problem with accepting that Malfoy wouldn't do anything against him because of Ellie was that he just didn't want to believe it. If it was true it meant that Ellie and Malfoy were such good friends that Malfoy could ignore everything he had been standing for all his life for her. That he could betray Voldemort for her. And the worst of all was the fact that Harry still didn't want to tell anything about Ellie to Ron and Hermione, because he didn't think that they would understand it at all. He didn't trust his two best friends to accept something that was very important to him and which Draco Malfoy had already accepted.

* * *

Another tree days later – on Saturday afternoon – Harry was on his way to the library to see Elena. Quiditch practice had been awful. It was freezing cold outside, but Ron still insisted that they should practice. And not only had he been frozen to his bones and beyond, but by the end he also had gotten hit by a bludger – his left arm was still aching a bit. He hadn't really paid attention the whole time, which unfortunately Ron had noticed. He normally didn't see such things, but today he had to manage it. So afterwards Harry had to listen to Ron's lecture how he didn't really care about the cup and that his behaviour affected the whole team. After ten minutes Harry had become so angry that he almost shouted at Ron that it had been all his fault, because no normal captain would made his team train in such a weather and that he couldn't have paid attention since he had been trying to imagine that he wasn't going to freeze to death. 

After that Harry had left and gone straight to the prefect's bathroom to get warm and relax a bit. The last one hadn't worked quite well. Harry had decided to talk with Elena about Malfoy the night before, but right now he wasn't sure if he could keep himself calm enough not to shout at her while they talked about Malfoy. He wanted to prevent something like that from happening at all costs, however, he also wanted to clear things up with Elena as fast as possible. All this thinking about her, her words and actions was going to drive him crazy.

Harry went to the back of the library. Elena was already sitting there so he walked to her.

"Hi, Harry!", she smiled at him, but her smile faded when she saw his serious expression. "What's wrong?"

"I need to talk with you, but not here if you don't mind."

"OK", she said slowly, stood up and packed her things.

They went out of the library. Harry led Elena into the next empty class room and locked the door.

"So what is this all about?", Elena asked.

"I've been thinking about what you said about Malfoy and I don't know what to make of it. Are you telling him everything we've been doing and talking about?"

"Ah, I see your problem. I don't tell him everything, just what has happened in general – not too much details. However, if you're afraid that anything of it could go to the death eaters or the Dark Lord, I can assure you that it won't happen."

"If I told you how Dumbledore plans to destroy Voldemort, you wouldn't tell it Malfoy?"

"That's not what I meant – neither I nor Draco would say it to the death eaters."

"So you'll tell him something as important as that?"

"Yes, probably."

"And you says that you don't hate muggles and muggleborns", Harry said raising his voice.

"I don't see what these two things have to do with each other."

"Don't you get it? If Malfoy gets even the slightest hint of what Dumbledore's planning, he'll immediately run to tell it Voldemort."

"First", Elena began also a bit angry now, "till now we haven't talked about anything concerning Dumbledore, Voldemort or their plans at all. Second even if we did, it's not my intention to spy on you which means I wouldn't say anything to anyone if you asked me not to. And third I am 200 per cent sure that Draco isn't going tell anything I tell him to anyone either - except maybe his girlfriend. If he did, he knows perfectly well that I'll personally take care of him then."

"But he's…"

"Draco has absolutely no intention to go even near Voldemort if he could prevent it. We've been best friends since we were four, so I should know him better than you do. You have to trust me that I really don't want to harm you or any of your friends. However, if you can't, then we shouldn't be friends anymore – just working partners."

Elena looked him directly in the eyes, waiting for him to say something. Harry stood there frozen. His mind told him to stay as far away from her as possible, he couldn't trust a Slytherin and Malfoy's best friend at that – it could destroy him. His heart on the other hand told him that he could trust her – he had no idea why, but he just felt that she wouldn't harm him. The question was what was the right thing to do.

"Harry?" Elena said with a much more calmer voice, probably sensing his inner struggle like she always did.

"I trust you, Ellie. This is just going against everything I've learned in the past six years."

She smiled.

"Never trust a Slytherin? Though I'm sure you've also noticed that there are much more people that shouldn't be trusted, right?"

"Yeah, that's true. Can we talk about our meeting in the room of requirement next week now?"

"If there's nothing else that bothers you. I meant to ask you if you have any wishes concerning the movies we'll watch."

"I don't really have an idea when it comes to movies."

"I know, but would you prefer comedy or action or fantasy or…"


	9. A Midnight Snack

**9. ****A Midnight Snack**

Later Harry wandered through the corridors. He didn't want to go back to Gryffindor tower yet. Neither was he hungry to go to the Great Hall for dinner – he just didn't feel like seeing Ron right now. He was still a bit angry at him although Ron hadn't behaved that bad. Oliver Wood had been worse sometimes and Harry had supported him. However, now Harry wasn't very interested in winning the cup so Ron's determination got on his nerves. He just wanted to be alone, to be able to think.

Harry stopped at a window and looked outside. It was already dark though it was still early. The moon was rising slowly over the mountains and everything shone because of the snow. The lake was frozen and also covered with snow, you couldn't tell where it started or ended. The dark forest was so white that it didn't look scary at all – more like a forest from a Christmas tale. The scenery was breathtaking and although Harry knew that it was freezing cold outside – and it even looked like that – he couldn't help but admire it. How could something so unfriendly for the body be so alluring to the soul? How could he want something that was so dangerous? He had told Elena that he trusted her and he really did, but without an idea why he did it. If he told anyone that he trusted Malfoy's best friend not to betray him to the death eaters they would call him crazy. It was absolutely irrational, he himself thought that it was mad, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to be friends with Elena, he wanted to trust her and to be able to tell her everything. Right now he felt that he could even tell her things he couldn't tell Ron and Hermione, that she would understand in contrast to his two best friends. Crazy. He was definitely going crazy or he already was. All these things with Voldemort and being the chosen one had got at him at last. Now he could just hope that Dumbledore knew what he was doing, that he would tell him what he had to do to defeat Voldemort and that he would be able to do it even in his state of madness. Yes. Dumbledore was going to make everything good – like he had done it in the past. Just like he had stopped Quirrell, the diary Tom Riddle, Wormtail, Barty Crouch Jr. and Umbridge. No, wait. He hadn't done any of those things it had been Harry who "saved" the day. Everything would have been over a long time ago if it hadn't been for Harry – Voldemort would reign over the wizarding world, all muggleborns would be dead and the muggles tortured. And what did he get for it? Nothing. His parents and his godfather were killed, he had been accused of being a dark wizard (not just once), of being mad and a liar. They cheered with him when he achieved something "good" and treated him like shit when he didn't. Why did he have to save the magical world from something it had created itself? Voldemort knew what wizards and witches thought about their world and used it against them – to win their loyalty or to scare them enough to be sure that they wouldn't try to harm him.

"Potter, what are you doing here?", Harry jumped when he heard McGonagall behind him.

"I, I… I was… It's not after curfew, is it.. Professor?"

"No, but it's dark and cold and I don't see why you should be wandering around. Go to your common room. Now."

"Yes, Professor."

So Harry headed for the Gryffindor common room. McGonagall didn't go after him, but he could feel that she was looking at him till he turned at the next corner.

* * *

"Harry, why weren't you at dinner?", Hermione asked first thing he came in. 

"I wasn't hungry."

"But you probably haven't eaten anything since breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry, Hermione."

"And where have you been all this time?", asked Ron - still a bit anger in his voice.

"I had a long bath to warm up and then I studied in the library with Elena."

"Santos? Slytherin's seeker?", Ron said getting angrier.

"She happens to be my DADA partner, I didn't choose her. And if you're going to start about the quidditch cup again, you can leave it, because I don't want to hear any of it. Apparently you've forgotten that I'm in the team for more than six years and I know perfectly well what's really important."

"Please, guys don't fight about quidditch, it's childish", Hermione interrupted.

"Ron started it."

"You..", Ron began, but one look from Hermione silenced him.

"Harry, I and Ron have just started our Transfiguration homework if you bring your things, we could do it together", Hermione changed the topic trying to calm them down.

"Yeah, I'll be right back", Harry said and went to the dormitories.

* * *

Later that evening Harry sat alone on a armchair in front of the fire. Everybody had gone to bed, but Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep and thought that it was much more comfortable to think in front of the fire than in his bed. 

After he had returned with his Transfiguration things they had started writing their essays in silence only breaking it to ask Hermione something from time to time. After that Ron had gone to bed, Hermione had followed him shortly after and Harry sat there while the common room became empty. Now he could think in peace.

How could a simple girl turn his world upside-down just like that? After everything he had been through a few words from her and everything seemed meaningless. Where did she get such power over him? He should have fought it, but how when he hadn't noticed it till that moment. Harry felt quite terrible, which had also to do with the fact that his stomach was beginning to ache more and more – he really hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. However, he had absolutely no desire to sneak to the kitchen right now and the only eatable thing he had in his room were some of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Was there anything else he could do to get some food? Dobby! He could call the house elf and ask for some food. Hermione wouldn't be happy with him if she found out, but she wouldn't. Then he remembered something and without thinking about it called her.

"Pimki!", he had no idea what he expected of Elena's house elf if it appeared at all, but it was worth a try.

"Yes, Harry Potter?", Pimki said as she appeared with a pop.

Harry didn't know what to say – somehow he hadn't really thought that she would appear. But Pimki was standing there waiting for him to say something and looking curiously around her. She was wearing a light pink plushy something – which looked much like a dress – tied with a white ribbon around her waist and matching woollen "shoes".

"I, I hope I didn't wake you up, Pimki."

"No, Harry Potter. You don't have to worry, Pimki's never asleep at this time. Did you want something?"

"I was hungry and I thought…", he trailed off – he hadn't been thinking anything when he called her.

"What would you like to eat, Harry Potter?"

"I don't know – just something."

"But Pimki doesn't want to bring you something you don't like."

"You really don't have to worry about that. If something's left from dinner it would be OK."

"Yes, Harry Potter", and she disappeared.

Harry didn't have much time to realise what he had just done when Pimki appeared again. She was caring a tablet with spaghetti Bolognese and a piece of cake on it. She put it on the table in front of Harry.

"This is left from the dinner Pimki made for her mistress, if you don't like it, Pimki'll bring you something from the kitchen."

"No, you don't have to - it looks very good. Thank you."

Pimki smiled, bowed and disappeared.

* * *

About half an hour later Harry had almost finished the cake. He had eaten quite slowly since he was trying to figure out why exactly he had called Pimki, though he had to admit that it hadn't been a bad idea – she was a great cook. He also wondered what Elena would say when she found out about it, Pimki would surely tell her. Would she mind that he had called her house elf and eaten the rest of her dinner? And just when he thought that it wasn't that bad to have your own house elf to cook for you whatever you wanted whenever you wanted it, Pimki appeared again. 

"Oh, Pimki's sorry, Harry Potter. She thought that you have already finished eating. Pimki'll come back again."

"No, wait, Pimki. I'm finished. This cake's absolutely delicious", Harry said taking the last piece of it into his mouth.

"Pimki's very glad that Harry Potter likes her cake so much. It is also one of Mr Malfoy's favourite."

Harry swallowed the wrong way and started to cough.

"Some water, Harry Potter?", Pimki handed him a glass.

"Thanks", Harry managed to say and after emptying it: "That's the second time in the last twelve hours that someone compares me to Malfoy", Pimki just looked at him not understanding what he meant. "Never mind. Thank you for the food it tasted great and I'm sorry I caused you trouble."

"No trouble at all, Harry Potter. Pimki's glad that she could help and that she could see the Gryffindor common room – Pimki has never been here before. Very nice room."

"Don't you work with the other house elves?"

"Yes, but every elf has it's own things to do. Pimki's normally working in the dungeons and just sometimes around the Ravenclaw tower."

"I see. Ahm, Pimki, are you kind of free since you wear clothes?"

"No, Harry Potter. Her mistress makes those things for Pimki, but they aren't real clothes. Mistress wouldn't like Pimki wearing a simple pillow case or something like that at all. And Pimki likes wearing so beautiful things – no other elf has such things", she finished with proud.

"Yeah, well. Thank you again and good night, Pimki!"

"Good night, Harry Potter!"

Pimki disappeared taken the tablet with her. Harry stood up and went to bed. In contrast to what he had expected he fell asleep almost immediately (even though Neville was snoring quite loudly). And he dreamed of Ron who commanded a team of flying house elves all dressed in differently coloured plushy dresses.


	10. Watching Movies

**10.**** Watching Movies**

The following week passed without any unusual occurrences. Harry and Ron got over their fight about the cup. Harry played his best at their practice on Friday afternoon and Ron was very satisfied and absolutely sure that they would win. He even said sorry to Harry for shouting at him. What Ron didn't know was the reason for Harry's good spirits, which made him play so well. Had he known that Harry had just been happy because he was going to meet Elena Santos, he surely wouldn't have been happy at all. However, he didn't so everything was well. Harry had thought about the matter for some time and he had concluded that he wasn't doing something that bad after all. He was just going to watch a couple of movies with Elena. There was nothing wrong about it – it was a normal muggle activity. It couldn't harm anyone, right?

* * *

On Saturday morning Harry went to the room of requirement. Just before he reached the entrance Pimki appeared before it. 

"Good Morning, Harry Potter!"

"Morning! Is Elena already in there?"

"Yes. Mistress told Pimki to wait for Harry Potter and to let him in", she said and opened the door that appeared.

Harry went in and Pimki closed the door behind him. He looked around - the room looked quite differently than before. The walls were icy blue like the carpet, which had also big white snowflakes on it. The TV was the only thing that was the same. This time before it stood a big white couch with a table in front of it. The room looked very icy, but fortunately it was still very warm. Elena was standing in the back of the room nipping on her cup – looking at Harry while he looked around the room.

"You didn't think that I would let it the way it was the last time, did you?"

"Not really."

She smirked. "Some hot chocolate?"

"That would be nice."

Elena handed him an other cup.

"How was your training yesterday?", she asked him while they got seated on the couch.

"Very good."

"Mhm."

"It was. Why don't you practice actually?"

"It's _very_ cold outside."

"And the fine Slytherins don't want to catch a cold."

"If you want to see it that way. However, if you ask me normal people don't go outside to train when it snows – except for winter sports of course, but that doesn't count. Even the muggles are clever enough not to play football outside in winter."

"What do _you_ know about football?!"

"Quite a lot for your information, but that's not the point. Besides we're going to win the cup anyways, no matter how much you practice."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

"And how are you going to do it? Poison all of our players maybe?"

"Of course not. We'll beat you on the field. You'll see. Do you want to bet on it?"

"For what?"

Elena thought for a moment. "One wish."

"What wish?"

"The one who wins can ask the other anything and he has to do it."

"You aren't going to ask me to kill myself, are you?"

"Don't be silly. No such things, but if you're so afraid that you might lose.."

"I'm not, I know Gryffindor is going to win. I accept the bet."

Elena just smiled and turned the TV on.

* * *

Harry stretched smiling while Elena turned off the TV and the DVD player. 

"That was it for today", she said.

First they had watched "Tomb Rider" 1 & 2 and then "Meet the Parents" & "Meet the Fockers". Harry was beginning to understand what Elena meant with taking a break from the magical world. He hadn't thought about it the whole day and it was great.

"It's already after curfew, but I suppose you won't have any problems going back to your common room without being caught, Harry."

"No, but can't we stay here little longer. It's not that late."

"There aren't any movies left."

"What about the box on the stereo?"

"What?", Elena looked to where Harry was pointing. There was indeed a DVD box on the stereo.

"Oh, that one. It's not supposed to be here. I just got it yesterday and wanted to watch it last night, but the Transfiguration homework took me more time than expected. Pimki probably thought that we would watch it since it was left there."

"So why don't we watch it now? You aren't already tired, are you?"

"No, I'm not, but I'm not sure you'll like it."

"What is it about?", Harry thought that he would watch anything just to be able to stay longer in the room of requirement with Elena.

"About World War I."

"Aha."

"You know what WWI is, don't you?"

"Of course, I learned a bit about it in muggle school."

"OK, it's about the first Christmas during the war in 1914. I watched it last Christmas and I really liked it."

"Let's watch it then."

Elena stood up to put the DVD in the player and then sat back on the couch next to Harry turning the lights off.

"Now it's almost as if we were in a movie theatre", she smiled at Harry and started the movie.

However, after just a minute of it, Harry was staring at the TV screen not believing what he was hearing.

"Why are the children saying such things?!"

"Because they really had to learn such poems in school at that time. The movie is based on real facts - just the characters are fictional", Elena said pausing the movie, which was called "Merry Christmas". "It shows how awful and senseless the whole war was and that very good in my opinion. The soldiers from the different countries are even talking in their mother tongues – English, French and German. It makes the movie seem more real. It's brilliant, but we don't have to watch it if you don't want to."

"I do. I just didn't expect something like that, but I really want to see it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

Elena pressed "play" and the movie continued. Harry tried to remember what he had learned about the war, but the only thing he could think of was that it had started because someone had been shot and then all the countries declared war to each other. And of course many people were killed.

* * *

By the end of the movie Harry was watching it fascinated and at the same time not really believing that something like that could have actually happened. And then just as the German soldiers were getting on a train Harry heard a sniff. He looked at Elena and saw tears running down her face. 

"Ellie?"

"It's so unfair and sad."

Harry touched her shoulder not really knowing what to do. Elena sniffed again and then she put her head on Harry's shoulder still watching the movie.

"They're being punished for not fighting on Christmas", she continued, while the train took off and a sad song could be heard.

"They're just being sent to an other place, it's not that bad", Harry said not very convinced himself.

"Not that bad?", Elena repeated quietly. "They have almost four years of war before them. How many do you think will survive for so long? And the French officer will probably never ever see his child. He was sent to Verdun and the Germans and French just killed each other there for months without achieving anything."

"You really do know much about the muggle world", Harry tried to change the topic, because Elena still had tears in her eyes.

"I just love history and that time is one of my favourite. I'm not sure why, but I think it stared with "Titanic" – my favourite movie ever."

"What is it about?"

Elena raised her head and looked at him surprised.

"You haven't even heard of "Titanic"?"

"No. Is that bad?"

"It's one of the tree most seen movies of all time. Most people know about it even if they haven't actually seen it or don't really liked. We'll watch it next time", she said and then leaned against Harry again.

"And you know the people really believed what they were told then – that the Germans are evil and the other way around. Do you remember what the priest said to the new soldiers and the poems in the beginning? I myself wouldn't have believed that it was possible if I hadn't read that book shortly before I saw the movie."

"What book?"

"The last book of a children series. I had read six of the books when I was younger in Bulgarian. I didn't know then that there were two more books, but last year I read something about it and remembered that I had really liked the books, so I bought all of them in English and stared to read them. When I got to the last one I understood why it hadn't been translated into Bulgarian – it wasn't a children's book at all. The first books were lovely - about an orphan girl called Anne, how she got adopted, went to school later college and then married and had six children. However, the last one was about her youngest daughter and how she grew up during the war - the author wrote many things from her own diary of the time in the book. The family was living in a small village in Canada, but all the boys went to fight for Britain. And everybody in the village talked all the time how dangerous the Germans were and how they wanted to take over the world. And the only person who understood that the war was absolutely senseless and wanted peace was treated like a traitor and a madman and his daughter ran away because she was ashamed of him. And she also killed my favourite character – the only one who actually died from the main characters.."

"The daughter of the man killed someone!?"

"No, the author. His name was Walter and he was the only one from the boys who didn't really want to fight and kill other soldiers. But with everyone saying how the Germans would kill them all if they managed to get to Canada, he decided that he had to help "save" the world from them and a year later he was shot just like that. However the worst of all was when a little boy drowned his kitten – he "sacrificed" it so that one of the older boys who had been caught by the Germans would return alive. Can you believe it? Drowning an innocent little kitten for someone who has chosen to go and fight knowing what may happen to him. Poor little kitten. I just couldn't do anything to any cat - even Mrs. Norris – I love them too much, but the author apparently didn't. And the little boy was the son of the minister of the village, too, not some bully… drowning a little kitten…"

Harry waited for Elena to continue, but she didn't – she had fallen asleep. Harry tried to make sense of all she had just said while watching her outlines in the dark, but he fell asleep too – not five minutes later.


	11. Anger

**A/N**: I'm so sorry it took that long this time, but I had problems with my notebook. Anyway I hope you'll like this chapter and _Merry Christmas_!

* * *

**11.**** "Anger"**

As Harry woke up in the morning Elena's head was lying on his chest – she was still asleep. He couldn't see what time it was since his left hand was under Elena's body. From what he saw through the window he supposed it was around lunch. He wondered if Ron and Hermione had noticed that he had been gone since the previous morning. He hoped that they hadn't. He didn't want to lie to them if they asked him where he'd been, but he didn't intent to tell them about his friendship with Elena either.

Elena moved, she raised her head and looked at Harry sleepily.

"Morning", she said and sat up stretching and yawning.

"Good morning!"

"You didn't sleep bad or something with me lying on you, did you?"

"Not at all", and it was true, he always felt good when she was around him.

"Good. Would you like to have breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"Pimki!"

The house elf appeared immediately.

"Breakfast, mistress?"

Elena nodded smiling slightly and Pimki disappeared. Elena yawned a couple of times while placing a pillow on the ground between the couch and the table and sitting on it. Harry had just sat on his pillow after Elena's example when Pimki appeared again with some food which she put in front of them. Harry could only see that she was wearing a green woollen "dress" and she was gone again.

"Ellie?"

"Mm", was all she could muster since her mouth was full with pancake.

"Why is Pimki wearing clothes if she's not free?"

"I thought she had told you", she said after swallowing down.

"She.. I..", Harry had totally forgotten that he was afraid of what Elena would say about his midnight snack. However, since she was smiling Harry concluded that she wasn't angry and he decided that it wasn't dangerous to talk about it. "She just said that they weren't real clothes."

"It depends on your definition of clothes, but since in or world clothes are something a normal witch or a wizard would wear, they aren't real clothes. All the house elves in my family make them by themselves."

"Your family has more house elves?"

"Isn't it obvious if I have my own?"

"I didn't think about it. But Pimki said that you are making her "clothes"."

"No. I'm just choosing the fabrics and telling her which would look good together."

"But that's not normal, is it? I mean most house elves wear towels and things like that."

"They do, but it's been like that in my family for some time now. You know it all started with my grand, grand, grand, grand.. mother Theresia. She lived over 200 years ago and was very vain. She even slept with her hair done and make up – no one has ever seen her without it. She also wanted all her things to be beautiful so as you can imagine she couldn't stand having an ugly house elf. House elves don't look very good in general and she gave up trying to make her poor elf look better after several spells that went quite wrong. So she decided that if the house elf can't look better at least it should wear something good looking. However she couldn't give them clothes and after considering several things she concluded that if the house elves do something simple of different textiles by themselves those things couldn't be called clothes. The house elves could wear them without being freed and that's how we do it since then."

"So your house elves never wear pillow cases or towels?"

"Just sometimes, but then they are beautifully decorated. Isn't it strange how a towel isn't considered as clothing. All our clothes are made of pieces of different fabrics, but the pieces some creatures have always worn rapped around them aren't "clothes"."

"Yeah, it really is", now that he thought about it.

"Why are you so interested in house elves anyway?"

"Because of Hermione I think. Since she found out that there are house elves in Hogwarts she's been trying to make their life better and to free them. During our fifth year for example she knitted hats and socks which looked like rubbish so that the house elves would pick them while cleaning and be set free."

"But that's mean!"

"She just wanted to help them."

"How could taking their job help them?! Hogwarts is probably the best working place for a house elf in Great Britain. And most house elves would be terrified if they were set free – they would rather die than get clothes. I mean it's not a bad idea to want to better their lives, but freeing them surely isn't doing them any good."

"I know and I think Hermione has realised that too by now."

They didn't say anything for a couple of minutes and then Elena smirked.

"I suppose you haven't told Granger about the ways you get yourself food in the middle of the night?"

"No. So Pimki has told you?"

"Of course, she was absolutely delighted. She said that before that she hadn't believed Dobby how great you were, because he's a bit crazy. However, now she absolutely agrees with him. And now that we've mentioned it, she wanted me to ask you what's your favourite food so that she can make it for you next time we watch movies.", Elena couldn't stop smiling while she said it.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I think she's totally in love with you, Harry."

They both broke into fits of laughs after that.

* * *

Harry was still in a very good mood at dinner where he discussed with Ron and Ginny their strategies for their next game against Hufflepuff. 

"I don't see why we wouldn't beat them, Ron. They have the worst team this year."

"I'm not saying that we wouldn't beat them, Ginny, that's out of question. The point is to beat them with as much points as possible or Slytherin will be first again."

"First they have to beat Ravenclaw", Harry said.

"They probably will. I've never seen Malfoy so determined and who knows what they would do to win. I also still can't make anything of their new seeker. She played worse than Malfoy in the last game, but I can't believe that he had taken her just because they're together – he wants to win too much."

Ginny nodded. "They must have some sort of a plan, we have to be very careful. Though I think that if we play our best and Harry catches the snitch as always the cup will be ours again. Don't you think, Harry?"

He just nodded and Ron returned to the game against Hufflepuff. Harry, however, didn't listen anymore – he had just remembered his bet with Elena. She had been very sure that Slytherin would win. Did they really have a plan or was she just bluffing? Harry looked at the Slytherin table. There she was sitting next to Malfoy laughing at something he had said. He was probably telling how he had terrorized some first year. But Harry couldn't believe that Elena wouldn't be laughing at something like that. So what was so funny? And then she leaned closer to Malfoy and whispered something in his year, he smirked. Harry turned his head back to Ron and Ginny. Why couldn't Malfoy stop acting as if he was the best wizard in the world? Everybody knew what a stupid coward he truly was. Right then Harry wished that Malfoy was still Slytherin's seeker and that his next game would be against him so that Harry could throw him off his broom.

* * *

On Monday Harry's wish to push or hex Malfoy was just as strong and Malfoy's going around as if he owned Hogwarts didn't help at all. The only time Harry totally forgot about Malfoy was during their DADA class, where he played dots with Elena on the edge of his parchment. 

Elena stood up with her things packed the second Rush told them that the lesson was over. She dropped a small piece of parchment in front of Harry while she was walking past him. Harry read it quickly and then put it in his pocket smiling. There were only four words written on it:

_"tomorrow_

_at six_

_library."_

However, at dinner the wish to hurt Malfoy was back again getting stronger every time Harry looked at the Slytherin table.

* * *

On the next morning Harry was almost too tired to even eat. Next to him Ron wasn't feeling better – they had both written on Snape's essay till very late the previous night. The last thing Harry wanted right then was to go to Potions. He was so tired that he would surely make something wrong and give Snape the opportunity to gloat. The owls flew in, but he hardly noticed while trying to put a piece of omelette into his mouth. A couple of minutes later he remembered that there was something good that day after all – his meeting with Elena. He looked up to see if she was sitting on the Slytherin table and spotted her immediately. She was reading the letter she had just received and Malfoy was trying to read it over her shoulder. She turned her back to him, but Malfoy wouldn't give up that easily. _With what right does he want to read other people's letters?! _Harry glared at Malfoy. He wasn't feeling sleepy anymore, all he wanted to do was to punch Malfoy right in the face.

Harry stood up flinging his school bag over his shoulder – so energetic that he missed hitting Ron's head by a couple of inches. He stomped out of the Great Hall towards Snape's class room leaving a totally dumbfounded Ron behind.

* * *

Two hours later Harry was trying to concentrate on the potion he was supposed to make, but it didn't work well – he was still very angry at Malfoy. He had managed not to look at him till then, but when Snape passed him he looked up. Malfoy was standing next to Elena whose lips were moving – she was whispering something to Malfoy without looking at him. Malfoy got a step closer to her and whispered something back. Elena retorted, but Harry couldn't see her expression since she was cutting some roots carefully. And then Malfoy leaned to her ear so that no one could hear what he was going to tell her. By that time Harry was putting everything his hands could reach into his cauldron his eyes locked on Malfoy and Elena. She looked at Malfoy annoyed…

BANG!

In the first moment Harry didn't realise it was his potion that had exploded. But when he looked down he saw that his cauldron was almost empty and the rest of the yellowish potion was splashed all over the class room. Snape's whole back was covered with it since he had been standing just two tables before Harry. Harry was in total shock so the only thing he could do was to watch with wide eyes Snape turn around and walk to him.

"So, Potter", Snape began with one of his most evil smirks, "you seem to forget that in a couple of months you'll have to take your N.E.W.T.s. How exactly do you think you're going to do it when you blow up such a simple potion? Even Longbottom hasn't managed to blow up anything this year. Twenty points from Gryffindor and..", Snape turned around. Neville's potion had exploded too though not as powerfully as Harry's. Snape looked around the room there were several more potion that looked dangerously bubbly now. "And another thirty points for spoiling the potions of almost all your class mates and a detention today at six in my office."

Harry didn't say anything so Snape turned to the class.

"Clean up yourself and your things and you can go. There's no point in starting the potion again. Potter you'll clean the class room without magic."

* * *

Everybody had already left the class room and Harry still wasn't ready with the cleaning. 

"When I come back, Potter, I want to see my class room as clean as it was before you came", and with that Snape also left the room.

Just as Harry thought that he would never be ready before lunch, Elena came back. She waved her wand without saying a word and the rest of Harry's potion disappeared.

"Tomorrow at the same time?", she asked smiling sympathetically. Harry nodded and she was gone again.

* * *

By the time Harry reached the Great Hall for lunch his shock had worn off and all he was left with was anger. He was angry at Snape, angry at Malfoy and angry at anyone who dared to look at him. The rest of the day he glared at everything and the following day wasn't better either. 

At six o'clock he was already sitting in the library. He was trying to read some book which was supposed to help him with the homework, but he couldn't even read one sentence understanding what it meant. So all in all he was just glaring at it.

"Hi, Harry!", Elena greeted him putting her bag on Harry's table.

"Hi", he said without enthusiasm.

Elena put her things out and then looked at him or so he thought, because he was still glaring at the book.

"I'll take the book I told you about. I'll be right back."

She had taken about five steps away from their table when Harry realised what she had just said and told her that he had already taken it. Elena came back to him and looked at the opened book in front of him.

"Harry, we're learning about vampires and not the Critiatus curse", she said quietly.

"Oh", Harry closed the book his cheeks getting red. He was glad that Elena hadn't noticed, because she was already gone to get the right book.

Harry stood up slowly to return his book on it's shelf, it was in the same row as Elena's. She was trying to get it, but the shelf it was on was too high for her, she could touch it only with her fingertips. Harry walked to her and took the book leaning over her – not that he was much taller than her, but it was enough. He turned to Elena with the book in his hand, they were standing just a few inches apart.

"How was your detention with Snape yesterday?", Elena asked looking at him.

"I've had worse detentions."

She smiled and all his anger was gone in a moment. They continued to look at each other. Elena's smile faded slowly and it was replaced with something Harry couldn't put his finger on. He glanced at her lips. Her lips…

"We still have homework to do", she said. Apparently the break of eye contact had brought her back to her senses – though her voice sounded a bit strange. She took the book out of Harry's hand and headed back to their table.

Harry just stood there frozen, a terrible realization hit him. He had wanted to kiss her, to feel her lips on his. But that was impossible, they were just friends – nothing more. The idea of kissing Elena was absurd. He didn't really want to kiss her, it was just some strange reaction to the stress and anger he had been through in the last few days. Yes, that must be it!

Satisfied with the explanation of his strange desire to kiss Elena Harry also went back to their table. For the rest of the time they both acted as if nothing had happened.

* * *

After they had finished Harry decided to walk around a bit instead of heading strait to the Gryffindor common room. He needed to clear his head and he also had some time before curfew. The thought that he had almost kissed Elena didn't want to get out of his mind. He tried to convince himself that by tomorrow everything would be back to normal. However, the harder he tried the louder became the other voice in his head which told him that it wasn't true. That his anger hadn't caused his wish to kiss her, on the contrary the anger was caused by it. Harry tried to remember why he had become so angry at Malfoy and the true reason – as much as he didn't like it – was that he had realised how close Malfoy was to Elena. He made her laugh, they seemed to understand each other without much talking and Malfoy knew things about her Harry couldn't even imagine. And that was it – the reason Harry had been so angry, no, jealous of Malfoy. 

Harry stopped walking. He looked in front of him not seeing anything. He had to do something about it. It was one thing being friends with a Slytherin and a completely different thing being, being… – Harry swallowed - being in love with one. And that wasn't the worst of it. He had spent the last one and a half years acting as if he didn't really care about anyone too much. And now? Now he was falling for Draco Malfoy's best friend. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if Voldemort found out.


	12. Trying and Failing

**12. Trying and Failing**

True to his decision Harry tried to act as normal and neutral as possible towards Elena. He tried not to think about her too much and while they were writing their homework together in the library to concentrate on the homework only. And it wasn't working that bad to Harry's amazement. Though as he had to admit to himself there were two main reasons why it did work so far and they both didn't really depend on him.

The first one was the fact that Hermione hadn't only already started to learn for the N.E.W.T.s, but she had also made learning programmes for him and Ron too. She always asked them if they had done this or that and when they didn't do their homework on time she was getting easily irritated. So Harry tried to do everything Hermione thought that he should so that she wouldn't ask him why he hadn't. Since the answer to that question would be that he had been too busy thinking about Elena Santos, Harry didn't think it would be good if she did ask him.

The second reason was that Elena herself had started to act more distant towards him. She was still nice, but she avoided being too near him or looking him in the eyes for too long and they hardly talked about anything except their homework. As much as he should have been happy about it – when she acted like that he wasn't so tempted to kiss her – it only made him wonder why she had started acting like that. Had she felt something too? Something that she knew she shouldn't be feeling and just like Harry had decided to stop it? Harry knew that he shouldn't be thinking about it at all, he should forget about it. It didn't matter if she had felt something or not because there couldn't be anything more than friendship between them. It would never work out and would just be dangerous for both of them.

However, even with the possibility of Elena feeling something for him Harry managed to stay as far away from her and the thoughts about her as possible in the following two weeks. What worried him though was the fact that they were going to watch movies again on Sunday. He wasn't sure if he would be able to keep up with his decision while being alone with Elena for a couple of hours. The only thing that he was glad about was that Elena hadn't decided to stop watching movies with him because of the incident in the library. It meant that she still wanted to be friends with him and Harry had convinced himself that if everything went well on Sunday they wouldn't have any problems becoming as good friends as before in no time.

* * *

On Sunday Harry went with mixed feelings into the room of requirement. This time the walls were dark blue, the carpet sandy-yellow and in front of the TV were two black arm chairs with a small table between them. 

"Morning, Harry!"

"Morning! It's quite dark in here."

"I wanted it to go with the first movie we'll watch: "Titanic", I told you about it last time. I'm not sure the decorations worked out the way I wanted it to be, but it doesn't matter. The second movie we'll watch doesn't have anything to do with the first one – except of the main actor – so whatever."

"What is "Titanic" about? You didn't tell me last time."

"It's about a ship called "Titanic". It's a romantic story about two people who meet on it. The story takes place in 1912 and it is a true story. Well, except of the main characters like in "Merry Christmas"."

"But it's not happening on Christmas too, is it?"

"No, in April. Don't you like Christmas?"

"Of course I like Christmas. I just wondered."

"Good, because Christmas is my favourite holiday, with all the decorations and presents and…"

"You can get presents for your birthday too."

"Yes, but you can't start decorating your house a couple of weeks before your birthday, everybody would think you're crazy. You can only do it if your birthday's around Christmas, like my mum's for example. It's on the 23rd and she always gets presents for her birthday and two days later for Christmas too. My birthday is two days before Valentine's Day and it's not that good, but I suppose better than having your birthday on the same day as the holiday because then people could give you just one present and say it counts for both."

"Or better than having none holiday around your birthday like me."

"But at least you don't have to go to school on your birthday. You're born during the summer, aren't you?"

"That's true. Why don't we start watching the movie?", Harry felt that it wasn't safe to continue talking, he needed to concentrate on something which wasn't Elena.

* * *

Later that day when he was already in his bed Harry thought about the time he had spent with Elena. "Titanic" had turned out to be a very romantic movie and he was very thankful that Elena had just said how great it was and had started the second movie called "The Blood Diamond" right after it ended. This one really hadn't anything to do with the first and even the actor didn't look much like he had in "Titanic". So all in all it had gone quite well. They had finished watching before dinner this time and Harry wasn't sorry because even as friends sleeping in the room of requirement wouldn't have been a good idea since they had lessons the next day. 

The only thing that bothered Harry a bit was what Elena had said about her birthday – that it was two days before Valentine's Day, which meant in a little longer than a week. Should he buy her something? After all they were friends and he always bought things for Ron and Hermione. However, they weren't friends for that long and he wouldn't have known when her birthday was if she hadn't mentioned it. He could buy her something on the following Saturday when they would go to Hogsmeade. But what? And what effect would a present have on their relationship and especially his attempts to stop wanting to kiss her?

* * *

During the following week Harry changed his mind several times if he should or not buy Elena a birthday present. On Saturday when he was going to Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione he had decided not to buy anything. After all he didn't want to get too close to anyone because of Voldemort. 

"Can we go to Honeyduckes first?", asked Ron when they arrived at Hogsmeade. "I'm hungry."

"You've just had breakfast!", Hermione said.

"It was over an hour ago. Please, 'Mione!"

"Oh, fine."

Harry didn't mind so he went after them. Inside of Honeyduckes he left Ron and Hermione – Ron was trying to convince Hermione to try some red bonbons – and went to see the new sweets. The store was crowded with students and while he tried to get through he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry", he said automatically.

"No problem, Harry", he looked up when he heard her voice. Elena was standing there with a blue-green lollipop - the colours and shades changed and moved all the time. She was smiling at him with one of her loveliest smiles, which he hadn't seen for some time now.

Harry had no idea for how long he just stood there unable to move or say something, but when Hermione came to him Elena was long gone.

"Let's go out, Harry. It's too crowded", Hermione said. "We could go to Fred and George's new store", Ron just nodded behind her since his mouth was full with chocolate.

"OK", Harry said after finding his voice again. Fred and George's store was a very good idea – there he would surely find something for Elena.

* * *

On Monday evening Harry had yet another problem to solve: how to give Elena the present. Her birthday was on the following day and he had thought that he would be able to do it while they worked on their homework in the library, but Rush hadn't given them any this time. He couldn't use Hedwig because she would attract too much attention at breakfast – he couldn't risk anyone finding out what he was doing. Because of that he thought that it would be best if Elena was alone when she got the present so any other owl wouldn't really work either. Of course he could give it to her himself, but that meant that he had to be alone with her and he had no idea how to manage that. He didn't want to wait till their next meeting in the library – what could he do? 

Harry looked around the Gryffindor common room. Almost all Gryffindors where in it since it was still early. Seamus and Dean were talking not far from Harry, Hermione was helping Neville with his Transfiguration homework and Ron was writing his Charms essay. Their dormitory was empty, Harry stood up.

"I'll be right back", he told Ron and headed to the stairs.

In the dormitory he went over to his suitcase and took the package with Elena's present. He turned it into his hands comprehending for the last time if it was good and then called Pimki.

"Yes, Harry Potter?"

"Ahm, could you give this to Elena?", he handed Pimki the package. "If it's possible when she's alone - it's a birthday present from me."

"Of course, Harry Potter!", she said smiling brightly and disappeared.

* * *

Since Pimki had disappeared with his present for Elena, Harry couldn't stop thinking that he shouldn't have done it. And what was worse was his fear that Elena wouldn't like it. He had bought her one of Fred and George's newest inventions: two stone-like objects which could produce a rainbow between themselves. The rainbow changed it's size according to the distance between the stones. It wasn't something special, but Harry thought that Elena would like it since she liked colourful things so much. And asking Pimki to give her the present had then seemed to be a good idea too, but now… 

Harry wasn't at all surprised when he dropped the remains of the ingredients which he was supposed to place back into Snape's cupboard. He had been so distracted with Elena's present during Potions that he was just glad that he hadn't blown up his potion again. He waved Ron and Hermione who had already packed their things not wait for him and started cleaning up.

When he had finished all the other students were already gone so he took his school bag and left as quickly as he could. Snape closed the door behind him.

"Harry", said a quite voice. He turned around, obviously Elena had been waiting for him. She took a few steps to stand exactly before him.

"I just wanted to thank you for the present, it was brilliant", she leaned forward kiss his cheek and whispered in his ear, "And sorry for making you drop those things."

Then she turned around smiling and walked away. Harry just stood there his heart beating frantically. He could still feel her lips on his cheek and he wondered how he would feel if he actually kissed her on the lips when such a small gesture already drove him crazy.


	13. Finally

**13. Finally**

A week later Harry was still trying to convince himself that his desire to have something more than friendship with Elena would vanish with the time. He didn't want to lose the friendship that had become so important to him for something without future. Because even if Elena did feel something for him – which he doubted – a serious relationship between them could never work. Not only because of Voldemort but also everyone else. How could he tell Ron and Hermione that he was in love with Elena? He didn't even dare to tell that they were friends. And what would everybody say when they found out he had something with Slytherin's seeker? When he had been together with Cho Chang he hadn't played against her – actually the only time he had played against her had been in his third year when he had seen her for the first time. And even if had the rivalry between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was nothing compared to the one between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The two teams couldn't stand each other and almost every year the game between the two houses had been the roughest. Harry himself had always disliked the Slytherins – not that he liked them now, but Elena was a completely different matter.

He sighed. Elena. Why did he have to think about her all the time? Even now when he had hardly seen her in the last couple of days. They had so much homework and the Slytherins had started to train again – Elena had mentioned that now she had to practice at least two times per week. They hadn't had much time for anything else. The previous weekend they hadn't been able to do anything in the room of requirement, but Elena had told him that they may manage to watch something that Saturday after lunch – she had quidditch practice in the morning. Harry really looked forward to it, because since he had given her the present Elena had gone back to her lovely self and he enjoyed it even if he knew that it was taking him far away from forgetting how much he wanted to kiss her.

* * *

When Harry went into the room of requirement on Saturday he had to look twice before he realised that he hadn't gone through the wrong door. The whole room was painted in different shades of green, the walls with trees and flowers and on the wall opposite of the entrance you could see a castle trough the leaves of the trees. Elena had also put Harry's present in the room so that the rainbow was shining across the room and she was putting some pillows on the deep green couch in front of the TV. 

"Come in, Harry, and make yourself comfortable", Elena told him smiling brightly.

"You're in a very good mood. Have you come up with a plan how to beat us during your quidditch practice?"

"Oh no, I and Draco made this plan months ago. Why do you boys always have to think about quidditch? I'm just happy because Draco put Pansy Parkinson into her place. When we were coming back from practice before lunch Pansy was waiting for Draco in our common room to ask him to help her with DADA, because they're partners. He said that he had no time for such things and if she wanted to learn something so much he would give her the essay to read – you know he's been writing their homework alone all the time. Pansy of course didn't want to learn anything, she just wanted to spend some time alone with him, because she thinks that way he'll come back to her. Draco was tired and in a bad mood after the practice and Pansy was the last thing he needed. So he shouted at her that he had absolutely no time to deal with such stupid things and that she could write the essay on her own. And that if she didn't leave him alone he wouldn't write anything till the end of the year, because he didn't need the homework to pass the N.E.W.T.s", Elena finished sighing dreamily.

"I thought you weren't together."

"We aren't. I just can't stand Pansy, she's so awful. You have no idea how it is to have to sleep in a dormitory with her for nearly seven years."

"Terrible, I suppose?"

"More than terrible. I still can't believe that Draco asked her out at the Yule ball."

"Maybe he had liked her. She helped him do a lot of things that made me look ridiculous then."

"No, it was because I was angry with him for quite some time and refused to go to the ball with him. He wanted to get back on me so he asked Pansy, because he knew how much I hated her. Though I don't think he would have done it if he had known that he wouldn't be able to get rid of her afterwards. She's so stupid!"

"But she was made prefect."

"Well, obviously the other girls aren't better. Most of them do what she tells them anyway."

"Why didn't you want to be a prefect?"

"How do you know I didn't?", she asked a bit surprised.

"Parvati and Lavender mentioned it. McGonagall told them when they asked about something, I don't remember what it was exactly."

"Aha. I didn't want to be a prefect, because I didn't see why I should be. With all the things you have to do: patrol the corridors, look after younger students, help the teachers and so on."

"But you can also take points and punish students or have revenge when someone offends you. Aren't those the reasons the Slytherins want to become prefects?"

"Maybe, but I can always send Crabbe and Goyle when somebody goes on my nerves to teach him a lesson."

"Are they doing everything you want?"

"Of course they are. How do you think they have come so far? If it wasn't for me they probably wouldn't have managed third year. Not that I would actually send them to beat up somebody – only if he really deserves it. However, I don't need to be a prefect, because Draco was one and now he's head boy, I can always ask him to punish whomever I want."

"Letting others do the dirty work, that's even more Slytherin-ish than doing it yourself. So there_ is_ a reason why you're in Slytherin after all."

"There are many reasons, Harry, but if I tell you all of them I'm afraid that I would have to kill you", Elena said trying to sound serious , which wasn't easy since she couldn't stop grinning. "We should begin to watch the movies."

"I suppose the decorations have to do with the first movie, don't they?"

"With all three of them since the second and the third one are sequels of the first. We're supposed to be in something like an enchanted forest. You do know some muggle fairytales, don't you?"

"A couple. Why?"

"Because we're going to watch "Shrek". It's kind of a fairytale with a monster as main character. It's very funny especially when you know the fairytales they're making fun of – there are quite a lot of them actuaally and also other muggle stories and even songs."

"Let's begin then."

* * *

"Those babies were so sweet and the donkey-dragon babies so funny", Elena sighed. 

"I have no idea from where they've got the idea of a donkey and a dragon getting together and having babies, but it's brilliant. There was absolutely everything in this movies."

"Snow White, Zorro, King Arthur, Pinocchio, a dragon…"

"And evil Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming and beautiful princess. Well actually the princess wasn't that beautiful without her wig."

"Yeah, Rapunzel without hair. I suppose it's not just making fun of the fairytales – where there's no princess or beautiful girl without long, shiny hair -, but also of the stars and top models in the muggle world. Many of them have hair extensions and such. Though sometimes they really have to if they want to have the newest hair do. Luckily as a witch you only need your wand to change your hair, I can't imagine how it must feel to have glued hair parts into your hair."

"Have you ever wanted to make your hair longer?"

"I did it once - it was Pimki who did it actuallyt, but that doesn't matter. A couple of years ago my mum managed to persuade me to cut my hair very short. I've never really liked short hair, but I had found a picture of a hair do that looked really cool. So while my hair was still wet it looked almost as it should have, but when it was dry it was just horrible. My hair is a bit curly and the shorter it is the curlier it gets – it had become something like a curly could around my head. When I tried to comb it the comb didn't move even a little bit. It was absolutely terrible so when I got home I asked Pimki to fixed it immediately. She's a very good hair stylist, I don't know what I would do without her – the only spell I can is to make a braid and long hair needs much care."

"I don't remember ever seeing you with your hair down?."

"That's because I'm not a morning person and I try to get up as late as possible so there isn't any time to do my hair properly."

"But it can't be that terrible."

"Sometimes it is and what's probably worse is that it has the habit to look different every two hours when I let it untouched", while she said it she stood up and undid her braid and run her hands through it a bit. "Well?"

"I don't know what you have, it looks good", and it really did in Harry's opinion. Her waist long, black hair was falling down in big waves like a veil around her in total contrast to her fair skin and light yellow shirt.

Elena shook her head. "Of course you don't, compared to your hair mine probably looks as smooth as silk."

"I thought you liked my hair", Harry said a bit offended.

"I do", she said smiling, "but it's still very messy. It's already half past eleven", she added looking at her watch. "We should go back to our common rooms."

"Will you be able to go back without being caught?", Harry asked standing up.

"Why not?"

"It is a very long way from here to the dungeons, I could come with you."

"That would be very nice of you, Harry, but I don't think it would be good if we get caught wandering through the corridors together so late at night. Just think what could happen tomorrow when all the students found out."

"I know, but I have my invisibility cloak with me. If we don't make too much noise we won't get caught. And I have some experience with wandering around Hogwarts at night."

"I'm sure you do. Well then if you really want to", she said putting her cloak on and Harry took the invisibility cloak out of his pocket and threw it over Elena and himself.

* * *

Bad idea. Very bad idea. He hadn't wanted to be too near to Elena and now she was walking next to him, touching his shoulder under the invisibility cloak. At least they were already on the first floor, it wasn't much till they would reach the Slytherin common room. However, it would have been much easier if… 

"I should have taken the Mauderers map too", Harry whispered more to himself than to Elena.

"What map?", she asked him quietly.

"Mauderers map. It's a map of Hogwarts and you can see where everybody is and what they're doing."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. My father and his friends made it when they were in school. If I hadn't forgotten to take it we could have seen which corridors were empty - we would be already in the dungeons. I took the invisibility cloak in case it gets late, but I didn't think of the map."

"Could you bring it next time? I would really like to see it."

"Sure."

"Does it show all secret rooms and corridors too?"

"Almost. The room of requirement isn't on it, but there are some things even Filch doesn't know about."

"Cool. And your father…", she fell silent at once.

They could hear footsteps, coming near very fast – if they hadn't been talking they should have heard them earlier. It was as if someone was almost running. Harry grabbed Elena's arm and dragged her into an empty niche where a knight's armour normally stood. Just seconds later Filch passed them, going exactly through the place they had been standing and muttering: "I'm going to kill him!"

Harry and Elena stood there under the invisibility cloak, none of them daring to move. Elena was leaning against the wall trying to calm down and Harry supposed that her heart must be beating as fast as his did. After standing like that for a couple of minutes – or so Harry thought – he decided that he should say something and the only thing that came to his mind was: "Peeves has probably done something again."

Elena continued to stare right in front of her for a moment then she blinked and looked up. "It's good we didn't meet him", Harry just nodded.

And there they were again: staring at each other in some sort of a trance. All Harry wanted to do right then was to kiss her. He felt that if he didn't do it, he would regret it for the rest of his life. So he did. He leaned forward and touched her lips with his. Elena closed her eyes and Harry took it as sign that she didn't want him to stop. He closed his eyes too, put his arms around her waist to bring her closer to his body, deepening the kiss. Slowly Elena bought her arms around his neck and they started to kiss more hungrily. Harry's mind went blank, there was nothing else in the world but Elena's body pressed against him and her lips on his.

And then out of nowhere Elena pushed him away. For a moment they stood there looking at each other, breathing heavily and then she went from under the invisibility cloak and ran away. Harry was like petrified from the shock of what had just happened and when he came to his senses again it was too late to run after her.

* * *

**A/N**: I won't write anything in the next four-five weeks, because I have to learn for my first exams. 


	14. Damn Slytherins!

**14. Damn Slytherins!**

On the next day Harry lay in his bed staring at it's ceiling. It was already lunchtime, but he hadn't had enough sleep at all since he had fallen asleep very late or better very early in the morning. He had woken up about an hour ago and remained in the same position since then. He didn't want to stand up. He didn't want to see anyone. Especially _her_. How could he have done it? He had been out of his mind! He knew he shouldn't have done it and still… it had been better than in any of his dreams – absolutely mind-blowing. And she had kissed him back – he was more than sure of that. They had been kissing for some time before she had pushed him back. Did that mean that she had feelings for him? She might have pushed him away because she had been worried about having a relationship with him and not because she didn't feel anything for him. Maybe she was just afraid what could happen if they were together, not that she didn't want them to be.

There he was again for the who knows which time. No matter how much he thought about it - and he had began doing so since he had headed back for Gryffindor tower the previous night – he couldn't be sure what she felt for him. The only way to find that out was to talk with her. And that was the reason why he was still lying in bed. He was afraid to talk with her, to even see her. He was afraid of her reaction, afraid that it could mean the end of their friendship. So to hell with the Gryffindor courage – he just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of his life. And of course as always his only wish shouldn't come true.

"Harry?", he heard Ron's voice from the other side of his bed's curtains. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, Ron", Harry answered without moving.

"Are you sure? Hermione sent me, she's worried about you. We haven't seen you since lunch yesterday."

_Great._ "Yeah, I'm sure. I just wanted to be alone for a while", he said while standing up and pulling the curtains away.

"Good then. Will you come with us to lunch?"

"Of course. Go to tell Hermione that I'm fine and I'll just change and come down too."

"OK."

* * *

After lunch Harry headed back to Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione. When he had come down to the Great Hall with them Elena hadn't been there and she hadn't appeared before they had finished eating. Harry saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle eating and leaving so he concluded that Elena wouldn't come for lunch. He wondered if that had something to do with him or if she was just still sleeping – he preferred the second one. 

"_Harry_", he looked at Hermione's concerned face, they had almost arrived by the Fat Lady. "Are you feeling well?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Are you sure? You're acting strange."

"I just got lost in thought about… the quidditch cup. You know, it's our last year. I'm sorry I didn't listen to what you were saying, did you want something from me?", Hermione looked a bit suspicious, but she seemed to believe him.

"I just said that Ron and I started writing Snape's essay before lunch and wanted to know if you'll join us to finish it. And afterwards we may do our Transfiguration homework", Hermione told him while they climbed through the portrait hole.

"Sure, I'll go to get my things."

However, while Harry climbed up the stairs to his dormitory he remembered that Elena had actually helped him write the Potions essay the day before, between the movies. Ah, _Elena_. He didn't remember ever having so much fun while writing Potions homework. He had to talk with her, work things out. He just couldn't imagine what he would do if he couldn't spend time with her anymore. The only question was how to do it. He could wait till dinner, but then she would be with Malfoy and the last thing he wanted was to have to talk with Malfoy too. He could send her a message to meet him somewhere alone, but he wasn't sure if she would agree to see him. So probably the best way would be to catch her when she was alone. But how could he do that? The Mauderers map!

Harry took the map out of his trunk. First he looked in the Slytherin common room – she wasn't there, but Malfoy and his friends were, which meant that Elena was somewhere alone. That somewhere, however, didn't seem to be in the castle, he looked a couple of times all around. She could be in the room of requirement, which didn't help because he couldn't go in there without knowing what she was doing. Harry looked again at all the corridors. Almost all students were in their common rooms, the library or still in the Great Hall eating. There was no one outside, since it was cold and cloudy. He looked absently at the outlines of the lake while contemplating if he should go to the room of requirement to check if there was someone inside and then he saw her. Elena's little dot was standing near the shore of the lake almost at the end of Hogwart's grounds and the map. That was it – the perfect opportunity to talk with her alone and far away from everyone.

Harry took his thick cloak, scarf, hat and gloves immediately, but then he remembered what he had told Hermione. He stood without moving for a couple of seconds thinking what he could do about it, then he took his school bag checking if everything he needed was inside and hurried down the staircase to the common room.

He went to Ron and Hermione and put his bag next to Ron. Hermione looked up confusion spreading over her face after seeing Harry dressed to go outside.

"I thought we were going to write our homework, Harry."

"Yes, but I forgot that I wrote Snape's essay yesterday. So I thought I could take a walk outside till you finish it and we could start with Transfiguration afterwards."

"Why would you want to go outside – it's cold", Ron said.

"Not that much, there's hardly any snow left. And it will help me to wake up completely, I still feel a bit sleepy for some reason. It won't take long. Bye!", Harry left quickly not wanting to have to lie to them more than necessary.

* * *

The moment Harry walked out through the big wooden double door an icy wind hit his face. It really wouldn't have been that cold wasn't for the freezing wind. Harry wrapped himself as good as he could and headed to the place where Elena was. He wondered how she could stand it to be outside for so long and why she would want to be outside in the first place. Suddenly he had a bad feeling that he wouldn't like the answer to that question, but he dismissed it remembering the feeling of her lips on his – which also had the nice effect of making him feel a bit warmer. 

When Harry reached her – after almost ten minutes of walking in the cold wind – he saw Elena sitting in a beautiful deep blue armchair a couple of feet from the water. She had folded her legs to her chest with her arms around them and was staring at the lake in front of her.

"Ellie?", Harry said. He had no idea what to say – he had forgotten to worry about that.

Elena didn't even move a muscle. Did she want to act as if he wasn't there? Harry didn't think of giving up that easily.

"Aren't you cold?" – no reaction – "The wind's freezing, isn't it?", what else could he say?

"Then it's good that we aren't muggles who can't cast a simple spell to block the wind, isn't it?", she said quietly without looking at him.

The moment she had uttered the first words Harry wished she hadn't spoken at all. Her voice was so cold, colder than the wind. She had never spoken to him in that way. She had been angry, indifferent but never cold. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes during which Harry felt colder and colder – not only due to the icy wind and he couldn't remember any simple spell to block it. But he had to do – say something, it couldn't be over, it just couldn't.

"Ellie, I… I…", what?

She looked at him at last – her eyes were just as cold.

"What? Why have you come here?", she said standing up.

Right then Harry had the crazy thought that even Voldemort himself could be envious of her coldness.

"Shouldn't we talk… about it?", he tried.

"No."

"But.."

"No", she repeated even colder if that was possible.

She took her wand out of her pocket waved it and the armchair disappeared. Then she walked pass Harry without looking at him and headed to the castle.

"Are you going to walk away just like that? I thought we were friends!"

Elena stopped and turned to look at him.

"So?"

"You.. I.. I'm sorry I did it, but…"

Something changed in her eyes for the smallest moment, but it was gone before he could blink.

"Not everything has to do with you, Potter. I know you're used to being the centre of attention", whenever he had been told that he had felt annoyed or angry, but hearing it from her hurt, "but I just got bored – simply bored, OK? I don't want to talk with you anymore so I would appreciate it if you stay away from me. I can write our DADA homework alone", with that she turned around and left him standing there frozen.

* * *

Three days later Harry was still in the same condition. He had no idea how he had managed to go back to Gryffindor tower after she had left him and actually managed to write his Transfiguration homework. He knew it must have become a very bad written essay, but it didn't matter. Hermione was becoming more and more worried about him and even Ron had sensed that there was something wrong, but that didn't matter either. The only thing that did matter was the fact that he had lost her, she didn't want to talk with him or to look at him. In DADA class on Monday she had managed to persuade even him that he wasn't sitting next to her with her behaviour. And so Harry found out just how much he loved her in the most painful way. He was so hurt that at some point he had wanted Voldemort to come and just kill him then and there. How had it come to this? How could she tell him all those things just like that? Why did she have to choose that time to act like a true Slytherin? Had he really been just pastime for her? Was she really like that? By now Harry knew Elena good enough to know that she could be a very good actress, but which Elena had been real and which false? Or has she been acting all the time? 

Those and much more questions ran through Harry's mind all the time during the previous three days. He didn't have an answer to any of them and it drove him crazy. He had hardly slept at all and right now he was wondering around the school after leaving Ron and Hermione after the end of their last class. He had no idea where he was or where he was going and he didn't care. The only thing that kept him a bit sane was the tiny hope that Elena might have just been upset about the kiss and that after she calmed down they may start over again. Though so far nothing had changed in her behaviour towards him.

"Potter", Harry needed a couple of seconds to realise who it was and when he did he wished he was wrong. Nevertheless he turned around, "Malfoy"

"Potter, I want to talk with you."

"Well, I don't."

"I'm Head Boy and if you don't I might take points from Gryffindor or give you detention."

"You can't without a real reason."

"I can think of many reasons, probably most simple would be for insulting the Head Boy. I'm sure Snape won't mind at all."

Harry still wanted to just go away, but then he thought that Malfoy wasn't going to let him get away just like that, especially if he really wanted to talk with him. So the best would be to get over with it as quick as possible.

"Fine."

"Not here", Malfoy said and nodded his head towards the nearest class room.

Harry went in first and Malfoy closed the door behind them. He had his wand in his hand and waved a couple of times towards the door performing some non-verbal charms. Harry took his wand out too. Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem the best idea to go into an empty class room with Malfoy. When Draco turned around to face him, Harry had already pointed the wand at his chest.

"I just don't want anyone to overhear us or interrupt, but I really only want to talk with you", Malfoy said putting his wand back into his pocket. Harry didn't move, "I swear. Let's just talk", Harry was still not completely convinced, but he lowered his wand.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Ellie, of course. What else would I have to talk with _you_", Malfoy said while passing Harry to sit on the teacher's desk. "What happened between you?"

"Excuse me?", Malfoy was one of the last people with whom Harry wanted to talk about what had happened that night.

"Don't act as if you don't know what I mean. I know something happened, I just don't know what. Ellie has been acting strange since she woke up on Sunday morning. She doesn't want to tell me anything, but her behaviour is going on my nerves already. So I thought that it would be easier to find it out from you."

"And why do you think that _I_ have something to do with it?"

"Oh, come on, Potter. You were together on Saturday, you're probably the last person she talked to that night, you've been acting a bit strange too – wandering around all the time -, and she wrote your homework alone. Enough reasons? I have more if you want. Besides you're not very good at occlumency, are you? I could see myself what happened, but don't you thing it would be much better and easier if you just told me", Malfoy finished folding his arms in front of his chest.

Harry glared at him. He wasn't afraid of Malfoy. But what would happen if he told him? Or better why should he care? He didn't care about anything anymore.

"I - we kissed.. on the way back to your common room."

Malfoy just stood there looking at Harry not showing any sort of emotion – damn Slytherin's lack of emotion.

"Did she push you away?"

Harry couldn't tell the truth, it would be humiliating. But maybe he could find out from Malfoy why she had acted like that, so he did.

"After a while. Then she ran away. But she kissed me back", he just had to add the last one.

A small smirk appeared on Malfoy's face.

"Have you talked since then?"

"On Sunday. She said that she had become bored of me and that she didn't want to talk with me anymore, even about homework."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Malfoy's smirk grew.

"What's so amusing, Malfoy", Harry asked angrily.

"First: _you_ are the reason for Ellie's bad mood and you've suffered more from it than I after all. Second: this is one of the rare times when I have been right and she wrong."

"About?"

"None of your business, Potter", Malfoy said standing up and coming near Harry, stopping right in front of him. "I don't know what image you have of her, Potter, but you should know this:", he leaned a bit towards Harry since he was taller, "except of the muggle-loving part Elena is a Slytherin through and through. And as far as I know you hate everything that has to do with Slytherin, don't you?"

Malfoy took his spells off and went out of the room leaving Harry to ponder on his words.


	15. Quidditch

**15.**** Quidditch**

A week later Harry was having lunch at the Great Hall. He looked at the Slytherin table. Elena was sitting with her back to him – as always since she had started ignoring him. Nothing had changed about that. He had shortly considered talking to her again, but he knew it would be in vain. And he didn't want to let her know how hurt he was. So instead he had decided not to think about her, much at least. He would forget about her with the time – she wasn't that special after all. She looked nice, but not amazing. He had to admit that she was clever, but Hermione was clever too and he didn't want to be with her. And what was most important was the fact that she was a Slytherin and like Malfoy had said Harry hated everything that had to do with Slytherin. Why should _she_ be an exception?

The easiest way not to think about her in Harry's opinion was not to have time to think at all. So he trained quidditch at least for an hour every day. Since the next game against Hufflepuff was just a couple of days away no one thought it was strange. Not only the players but also the whole Gryffindor house were already very exited. They knew that if something didn't go very, very wrong they would beat Hufflepuff. However, what was really exiting was the fact that they had a very good chance of taking the lead in the scoring after the game. Ron hadn't stopped commenting on how bad Slytherin had played against Ravenclaw the previous weekend (when he wasn't telling them their tactics for the upcoming game of course). Slytherin had won, but only because Elena had caught the snitch, before that they had been losing with sixty points. The Slytherin team seemed to play much worse than in their game against Hufflepuff and Malfoy had been furious. Elena had played the same way and Ron and the others were sure that Harry wouldn't have any problems beating her. Ron personally saw the whole game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw as one of his birthday presents since his birthday had been the day before the game, but he still lectured them to keep up their form and not to underestimate the situation.

During the rest of the time Harry wrote his homework, practiced different spells and learned for the N.E.W.T.s. He did everything Hermione wanted him to do and even more. She was delighted with it though she still looked at him a bit worried sometimes. However, even though he was totally exhausted when he went to bed every night, Harry had problems falling asleep. He had nightmares when he did and this time they didn't have anything to do with Voldemort. After two days of having slept an average of less than three hours Harry went to Madam Pomfrey. He lied that he had problems sleeping because of the whole stress with the N.E.W.T.s and the upcoming game. Madam Pomfrey examined him and seeing that he really hadn't slept much she gave him a not very strong sleeping potion. She told him that it would help till the game was over and that if he still had problems afterwards he should come again. After taking the potion Harry could sleep longer and his dreams seemed more distant and not so real. So all in all Harry managed to _almost_ not think about Elena.

* * *

On Saturday morning before the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Harry could only think about quidditch. And the more he thought about it – not only about the game but the whole championship - the more the idea that the whole thing with Elena had been about quidditch made its way into his mind. What if she had acted so friendly towards him, because they had thought that it was the only way to beat him? She and Malfoy probably thought that if he was upset about her, he wouldn't be able to play well enough. Well they were wrong. Very wrong! How could he disappoint his team and all the Gryffindors because of some girl and one from Slytherin nonetheless?! No, he would show them that as long as he was part of the Gryffindor team Slytherin would never win no matter what dirty tricks they used. He was going to catch the snitch later that day and then again in the game against Slytherin, even if it was only to proof that no girl could bring him away from what he was determined to do. Gryffindor was going to win the quidditch cup and Harry the bet with Elena, though the second probably didn't matter anymore. Malfoy was going to lose again and Harry smiled to himself imaging him much more furious than after their game against Ravenclaw. Yes, Harry still hated Malfoy. Even though (as much he didn't want to admit it to himself) Malfoy hadn't been acting that bad in the past few months, actually he had been kind of avoiding the Gryffindor trio. Only Hermione complained from time to time that Malfoy had been going on her nerves during their head duties, but the only time Harry had to talk with him in a long time had been during their strange conversation about Elena the previous week. Harry had banned all thoughts about it from his mind. It had been ridiculous and he couldn't make any sense of it, so he had decided that it was just meant to confuse him even more about the whole situation. And why should he let them confuse him by thinking about it?

"Hey, mate, are you ready with your breakfast? It's time to go to the pitch", Ron told Harry before putting the last piece of sausage from his plate into his mouth.

"Yeah, let's go! And after the game we'll celebrate beating Hufflepuff and being first in the score", Harry answered inspired from the thought of beating Malfoy.

"Exactly", Ron said standing up and the whole Gryffindor team followed.

"Good luck!", Hermione and Neville wished them. They both stayed in the Great Hall a bit longer finishing their breakfast and when they headed to the quidditch pitch Luna joined them with her lion hat.

* * *

The game was going very well for the Gryffindors so far. They were leading with seventy points and the poor Hufflepuffs couldn't do anything to lessen the growing difference. Harry made his rounds around the pitch looking for the golden snitch. He knew that when he spotted it he wouldn't have to wait to catch it since Gryffindor had already more than enough points. Hufflepuff's seeker, who wasn't good to begin with, was now also anxious to find the snitch and catch it before him and Harry knew that in this state the poor boy wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to fly his best. Nevertheless, Harry also knew that there was the tiny chance of him getting to the snitch faster so he kept an eye on him while searching for the golden ball.

Harry really wanted to catch the snitch, to show Elena that she hadn't affected him at all – which wasn't true, but that was not the point. He had seen her just once while flying around. She had been sitting next to Malfoy and she wasn't looking very happy quite the opposite actually. Serves her right for ignoring him like that – no, not for that, for trying to win the cup with such a dirty trick! However, Harry decided not to look at her again. After all he wanted to catch the snitch and he had to find it first.

A couple of minutes later Harry spotted it. Hufflepuff's seeker was nearer, but he was looking in the exact opposite direction. Harry started flying towards the snitch a bit slowly at first not to catch his attention and when he thought that he was near enough he went faster. The other boy saw him and flew after him, but he was too slow. Harry had almost gotten it when he imagined that it wasn't Hufflepuff's seeker far behind him but Elena. His fingers closed around the small ball, he caught it and she couldn't do anything about it! A big smile spread across his face when he stopped his broom abruptly to turn around, but then everything turned dark.

* * *

**A/N**: I know this chapter is bit short, but I'll update the next very soon since I've almost finished it. 


	16. Friends Again?

**16. Friends again?**

Harry felt his head ache. What was happening? He tried to remember anything and slowly it all came back. He had been flying after the snitch and he had caught it, but then? He couldn't remember anything else. He could feel that he was lying in a bed now. Had it all been a dream? No, that was impossible. He heard voices, but he had to concentrate to make out what they were saying.

"How can you say something like that?! He's been unconscious for hours!"

"But Madam Pomfrey said he'll be fine."

Harry opened his eyes slowly. The room seemed even more blurry than usual when he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Still, Ron, it's not possible that everything you care about is the bloody cup. Your best friend…", Hermione stopped talking when she saw Harry open his eyes. "Oh, Harry, how do you feel? You got hit with a bludger on the back of your head."

"So that's why my head's hurting like hell."

"I'll get Madam Pomfrey. Don't move too much", she added when he tried to take his glasses from the night stand.

Before he could reach them, however, Ron got them and put them on Harry's nose carefully. Now he could see the worried face of his friend clearly.

"I did catch the snitch, didn't I?", he asked Ron quietly, his head was beginning to hurt more and more by the second.

"You did", a smile crossed his face briefly, "but you got hit just mere moments after that. One of Hufflepuff's beaters tried to stop you, but it was too late. If you hadn't stopped so abruptly the bludger wouldn't have hit you at all, you know their beaters aren't very good. Madam Hooch didn't punish him because it was obvious that he hadn't intended to hit you like he did. You were lucky though that you weren't very high from the ground", Harry had closed his eyes while Ron spoke, his head was killing him.

"Does it hurt very much, Mr Potter?", Madam Pomfrey asked him when she came and he opened his eyes again.

"Yeah"

"Well, it's not very surprising. I couldn't give you a pain relieving potion while you were unconscious. Here drink this now", the nurse said holding a glass to his lips. Harry grimaced because of the pain the drinking caused him. "You'll have to stay here tonight, Mr Potter. I want to get sure that no further damage has been done and if that's the case your head shouldn't hurt by tomorrow. That potion won't work immediately though so I brought you some sleeping potion too. If you don't mind falling asleep again?", she took a small bottle from her robes.

"No", he managed to say. All he wanted was for that stupid pain to go away.

Madam Pomfrey gave him the sleeping potion and Harry grimaced again, but this one started to work immediately. He closed his eyes feeling his mind getting clouded and the last thing he heard was Madam Pomfrey telling Ron and Hermione to get out of the infirmary.

* * *

When Harry woke up again the infirmary was dark except of the moon shining through the high windows. He wasn't sure why he had woken up, he couldn't remember if he had been dreaming anything, but he took his glasses from the nightstand on his right. His head was still hurting a bit. He looked around and his breath caught in his throat. Elena was sitting on the edge of the bed on his left side. She was wearing a deep blue night robe and her hair was falling in big waves around her. She seemed to have a bluish glow around her because of the moonshine, she looked a bit ghost-like. He must be still dreaming. 

"Ellie?", he whispered.

"Harry", she was biting on her lower lip almost nervously. "How do you feel?"

"My head's still aching a bit."

Silence fell over them. Elena was still biting on her lip, just looking at him. For a moment all he wanted was to stand up and kiss those lips again, but he closed his eyes instead shaking his head. Then he opened them again – she was still there.

"Are you real?"

Harry saw the corners of her lips twitch up slightly. "I am."

"Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"And you decided to watch me sleep?"

"I wanted to talk with you, but when I came here you were looking so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you up."

Again they stood in silence for some time just looking at each other.

"Look, Harry, I..", she took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry I overreacted like that. I didn't mean to say those things to you. I don't know what had gotten into me. But I miss.. spending time with you, learning and talking with you – not only because I'm too lazy to write the bloody homework alone", she smiled at him apologetically. "Can't we just forget what happened and be friends again?", she finished with a light plea in her voice.

Harry didn't have to think twice.

"Of course we can", he said adding in his mind _if that's the only way to have you around._

Elena smiled happily.

"I'm really glad you aren't angry with me for acting like…"

"A Slytherin?", her smile grew.

"Yeah, exactly. Anyway I'll better leave you now so that you can rest and be completely healed in the morning. We'll see each other in DADA tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I haven't been unconscious for over a day, have I?"

"No, but it's already 3am on Sunday so Monday would be tomorrow. You shouldn't overexert your brain too much though, better go to sleep again. You got hit quite badly", she stood up from the bed and headed to the door, but only after a couple of steps she turned around again grinning. "By the way your whole team played very good yesterday. Good night!"

* * *

On Tuesday morning Harry was smiling while he ate his breakfast. He had hardly stopped smiling since he had woken up on Sunday. He was so happy that they were friends again, he still couldn't quite believe it. After those awful two weeks without Elena he felt that nothing could be that bad now that she was there again. Everybody else thought of course that he was just happy because Gryffindor was first for the quidditch cup. Harry didn't mind that they did, but the truth was that he hadn't thought about it at all. All he thought about was Elena. All his conspiracy theories from the past two weeks were forgotten. He was absolutely sure that Elena had been upset about the kiss, because she just wanted them to be friends. And even if that made him a bit unhappy it was nothing compared with the feeling of having her back as a friend. 

DADA class the day before had been brilliant although he had absolutely no idea what the lesson had been about. All he knew was that Rush had given them homework and that he was going to write it with Elena later that day in the library – something they hadn't done for over two weeks. Harry smiled brightly. Even Potions seemed nice now since Elena was going to be there too and she wasn't ignoring him anymore. Harry looked at the Slytherin table. She wasn't there so he thought that she might have already gone to Potions. He looked back at Ron and Hermione who were sitting opposite of him. They both seemed oblivious to the world around them. Ron had been so happy after their game against Hufflepuff that he had decided to show Hermione that he didn't care only for quidditch. Since Sunday he had done everything he could think of to show her just how much he cared about her. Right now he was telling her how she could become the next minister of magic and though Hermione knew that most of what he said was too exaggerated she enjoyed the attention she had missed before the game. Harry on the other hand thought that he could use their momentary ignorance for everything but themselves to go to the dungeons alone. Still smiling he stood up taking his bag quietly and left them.

* * *

On the way to Snape's classroom Harry thought of Elena of course, what else? He wondered if their meeting in the library later that day would be just like their meetings used to be. Or if it would be a bit strange because of the kiss and the fight although they had decided to act as if the previous two weeks never happened. Harry hoped that it would be fine. 

He was a couple of steps from turning left at the next corridor when he heard voices coming from the right side of said corridor. He stopped and listened though he wasn't sure why.

"Sure", Harry didn't recognize the voice immediately since Malfoy didn't speak with his usual drawl. "You should have seen your face."

"So that was the real reason why I had to watch the bloody game! So that you could watch my reactions?!"

Harry slid to the right wall of his corridor trying not to make a noise. Malfoy and Elena were coming near. He hoped they were heading to the Potions class room which meant that they would go straight forward their corridor without noticing him.

"Of course not. How was I supposed to know that something like that would happen? But it was an interesting bonus though", Harry could see Malfoy smirk when he said it since they were just passing his corridor, thankfully they didn't notice him and walked on.

"You don't know what you're talking about", she said annoyed.

"I know perfectly well what I'm talking about, darling. You're the one who's in complete denial. D thinks that too by the way."

"Oh, shut up! Or you'll have to find yourself a new seeker", there was a real warning in her voice now and Malfoy didn't say anything further.

Harry didn't move till he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. He waited some more time before he headed slowly after them, his mind, however, was racing. What had this been all about? Harry tried to think of anything they had said that made sense to him. The game. Had she meant the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff? She couldn't have meant the one between Slytherin and Ravenclaw because she had been playing it and not just watching. Or was it a completely different game? He couldn't be absolutely sure if she meant the quidditch game. And Malfoy had said that she had been in denial about something, but she didn't think that was true. It could be the same thing Malfoy had told him about during their weird conversation about Elena, the think he had been right about and she wrong. Was she denying the fact that he had been right about it? And who the hell was D? The only thing that he could be sure of was that Malfoy seemed to do what she wanted in the end.


	17. In The Library

**17. In The Library**

The rest of the week went by in a rush. Harry had had to study something almost all the time and the quidditch free week Ron had given them was already over after their training the day before. It wasn't much till the Easter holidays now and after that, well, Harry tried not to think about it. It wasn't only the N.E.W.T.s, which were turning out to be much more stressful than the O.W.L.s – something he wouldn't have believed possible two years ago -, but there was also the last quidditch match. His last game at Hogwarts as part of Gryffindor's team – the mere thought about it was just scary. He remembered how scared and excited he had felt before his first game and then the euphoria when he had caught the snitch for the first time. There was never going to be something like that after the final game. And it wasn't enough that it was his last quidditch match, but it also had to be against Slytherin. It was true that Gryffindor was first for the moment, but the Slytherins were right behind them so it all came down to that game – the team who won it would win the cup too. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him that much to play against Slytherin. He should have been exited that he could beat them in his last game like he had done it in his first, but the thought of their seeker freaked him out a bit. How was he supposed to play against Elena?

Harry shook his head. He shouldn't think about it there was still time after all. He looked at his Charms essay in front of him. He had come alone to the library to do it since Hermione and Ron were writing Potions homework in the Gryffindor common room. Harry thought the common room was too noisy, almost all Gryffindors were in there – where else would they be on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Ron and Hermione didn't seem to mind much though, sometimes when they were together they could shut out everything around them completely. Harry really wondered how they could do it even while writing Potions homework. However, when he remembered the time he had done the same essay he could partly understand them. On Tuesday Elena had helped him to write it after they had finished DADA homework, which hadn't been much. It was a very strange feeling not to have to worry about Potions homework two days before the lesson, but Harry didn't even think of complaining since he had enough to do and without Potions. As for Elena he had hardly seen her the previous couple of days since Tuesday, but when he did she always smiled sweetly at him. There wasn't a trace of her cold demeanour from before the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Harry smiled to himself thinking about her. He knew that he could never have her as more than a friend, but right now just having her around made him happy.

* * *

Harry put his quill on the parchment and looked at his watch. She was late. They should have been in the library at half past five and it was already a quarter before six. He wasn't worried though since Elena had had quidditch practice which had probably taken longer than expected. He turned back to his essay, but he hadn't written even one sentence when someone let their bag fall on his table quite loudly. He looked up when Elena was just zipping her school bag more forcefully than necessary. 

"Sorry, I'm late."

"No problem. I take it your practice hasn't been very amusing."

"Oh, it was lovely!", she said her voice full with sarcasm. "Draco had to make me play in that bloody weather. You can hardly see anything a few inches from your nose. But that didn't matter, we had to train, just because the stupid gits couldn't manage to score enough against Ravenclaw. It's not like I had anything to do with it. I got the snitch, didn't I? But I had to practice too, because otherwise the moral of the team may go down. Moral?! If they dare say even a word of complaint about how much they have to practice, I'll make sure they won't be able to say anything ever again!", Elena said while she rummaged in her bag furiously taking her things out. Harry just looked at her in awe. She looked really good when she was furious especially if he wasn't the reason for it.

"They should forbid quidditch games when it's raining!"

"Ellie, we're living in Great Britain. If they do it there'll hardly be any games."

"So what? It's not fun playing or watching in such a weather. When we stopped practicing I was as wet as if I've just been swimming in the lake and it was cold too. Even after having a hot bath for almost an hour I still shiver when I think about it."

Finally having everything she needed out of her school bag, Elena closed it just as forcefully as she had opened it and threw the bag next to one of the legs of the table. She looked at Harry, coming near.

"What are you writing?"

"Charms homework."

Elena leaned over his shoulder to read the beginning. They hadn't been so near since he had kissed her. Harry swallowed. He could smell that she had had a bath, there was something fresh mixed with her normal faint rosy scent.

"We had to do that too last week", he heard her say it, but the words didn't make any sense to him. He was too busy imaging her in a bathtub.

"Harry!"

Harry closed his eyes and opened them again focusing on Elena who was already sitting in the chair opposite from him.

"How much do you have left?"

"Of what?", he asked still a bit dazed.

"The essay", she said smiling slightly.

"Ahmm… just the last paragraph."

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"OK, finish it and then we'll start with DADA."

Elena ducked down out of Harry's view to search for something in her school bag. It turned out to be a History of Magic textbook.

"Do you still have History of Magic?", he asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's the most boring subject ever."

She glared at him.

"It is", he added a bit defensively.

"No it isn't. Professor Binns may be boring, but that doesn't mean the subject he's teaching is boring. I love history - magical and muggle - and I don't see why DADA for example would be more interesting."

"How can you compare DADA to History of Magic?"

"Why, do you like it?"

"It's my favourite subject."

Elena smirked, "Well, I'll never understand people and their fascination with the Dark Arts."

"I'm not fascinated with the Dark Arts, just defence against them."

"All the same. The one can't go without the other."

"But.. but that's as if you would say that death eaters and aurors are all the same."

"I don't like any of them so you could say that they're all the same to me", Harry just gaped at her. "The death eaters do what they're told by the Dark Lord. The aurors do what they're told by their head of department or the minister of magic. More or less they have the same system. The death eaters may be more cruel when they're fighting, but it's the aurors fault when they don't use the death eaters own tricks while fighting against them – it would be just fair."

"You're crazy", was all Harry could muster.

"You know many brilliant people have been called crazy", she said smiling brightly. "But my point was that even if the death eaters and the aurors believe in different things, they still fight for what they believe in or just for fun. So if you forget about the minor differences they are quite alike in general."

"Aurors are fighting for the good, that's not a minor difference."

"They fight for what they believe is good, Harry, just like the death eaters. And let me remind you that two years ago the minister of magic tried to arrest Dumbledore accompanied by two aurors. And they would have fought with Dumbledore if they had been able to. Where's the good in that?"

"One of them wouldn't have, he knew Fudge was wrong and he is a member of the order."

"It doesn't matter. If hadn't he would've gotten fired, not to mention that the other one probably didn't care at all who he was arresting. And what about Moody?"

"Moody? Alastor Moody?"

"Do you know any other Moodys?

"What does _he_ have to do with it? He's one of the best aurors ever."

"Aha. And how comes that such a 'great' auror can be played by a crazy death eater without anyone - not even the 'great' Dumbledore himself - noticing for months? One of the craziest death eaters acted like one of the craziest aurors and obviously he didn't have much problems doing it."

"That's…"

"What? It's true. No one even as much as thought of suspected him till he almost killed you in his office and there weren't that many people who could have been suspected with all the strange things that were happening in our forth year. How's that possible?"

"How can you suspect someone who's been thought dead for years?"

"I'm not saying that he should have been suspected for being Barty Crouch J., but for being a death eater or someone who works for Voldemort. No one did."

Harry didn't know what to say. All she said seemed ridiculous, but with a small drop of logic in it.

"Won't you finish your essay?"

"Sure", he hoped he could concentrate enough to write the last paragraph.

Elena opened her textbook holding it in front of her, her face disappearing behind it. Just like Hermione sometimes when she was angry or annoyed, Harry thought, but he didn't ponder if Elena was angry or annoyed because of him – he really wanted to finish the bloody essay once and for all.

* * *

About ten minutes later or as Harry thought an eternity he finished the essay scribbling some nonsense for a conclusion. He rolled up the parchment and put it aside. Elena was still hiding behind her book. 

"Ellie?"

"Mmm?"

"I've finished, we can start with DADA."

"If we have to…", she said closing her textbook.

"Are you angry with me?"

"What? No. I could just think of much more interesting things to do right now, but homework has to be done, right?", she smiled a bit absently.

"You really don't like DADA, do you?"

She shook her head.

"Why are you taking it then?"

"It was the only way to get Draco to take History of Magic. You see he had to take DADA for the N.E.W.T.s level though he doesn't really like it either and he begged me to take it too so that he didn't have to deal with it alone. I told him I would only if he takes History. That way I can make him take notes during the lessons when I don't feel like doing it. Binn's really totally boring sometimes", she finished grinning.

"So all in all the whole thing is a good example of how Slytherins cope with subjects they don't like, isn't?", Harry said amused.

Elena just nodded, "But we should really start with the stupid homework or we won't be finished till dinner's over."

* * *

Harry wrote his part concentrating only on the essay, he almost forgot that Elena was there too. When he finished it he looked at her for the first time since they had started writing. Obviously she had finished before him as always. Right now she was sitting with her hands under her chin staring at something over his head – her eyes were glassy. She didn't seem to notice he was looking at her at all. 

"Ellie?"

No reaction.

"_Ellie_", he repeated a bit louder.

She blinked a couple of times before focusing on his face.

"Are you OK?"

"Sure", she looked down at the table. Harry studied her futures confused. Was she blushing? He couldn't say for sure by the dim light.

"I've finished my part. And you?"

Elena looked at the bottom of her parchment under her hands, he could only see the first few lines.

"Yes."

"Won't we swap them to correct them?"

"Ahm…", she looked at her watch her other hand still over the bottom her parchment, "You know I told Draco that I would meet him about now. And it wouldn't be good if he came looking for me so I'll just take yours with me. I'll look over it later and copy it. OK?", she still wasn't looking at him for some reason.

"If you really have to go", Harry rolled up his parchment and handed it to Elena who was stuffing her things in her bag rather clumsy.

"See you tomorrow", she said glancing at him for a moment. Her cheeks seemed to be indeed a bit red, but before he could even say 'bye' she was gone.


	18. Hogsmead

**18. ****Hogsmead**

While Harry waited for Ron to finish eating his dinner he thought of the past week. Elena had been acting a bit differently around him, but it wasn't bad – not at all actually. He didn't ponder on the reason for that though. He had decided that the only thing that could come out of trying to understand her different moods was a head ache, so he didn't even try.

"Harry, do you know what you want to do in Hogsmead tomorrow?", Ron asked after swallowing the last piece of his cake.

"Not really. Why?"

They both stood up to leave the Great Hall.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe if the weather stays that good Hermione and I could spend some time alone in Hogsmead, as a couple you know. If you don't mind of course", Ron said looking at Harry apprehensively.

"Of course I don't."

"Good. It's going to be only for the afternoon anyway."

"I really wouldn't mind even if you spend the whole day together."

"You're a great mate, Harry. What about we do Herbology tonight? So that Hermione won't have to worry that I still have to write it the whole time tomorrow."

"Sure."

* * *

Later that night while he put on his pyjamas, Harry wondered if it wouldn't be best if he just stayed at Hogwarts instead of going to Hogsmead. He could write his homework in peace and maybe even outside by the lake. It had been unnaturally warm and sunny for March the last few days and it didn't seem that something was going to change. He didn't feel like going to the village and he didn't know what to do there without Ron and Hermione either. The two of them were still in the common room arguing where they should go. Normally he was happy that they had gotten together, but now he felt a bit jealous. He wished he could have what they had with Elena. 

He pulled the covers of his bed and sat on it. _Why can't I be with her?_ He was about to lay down when he felt something under his right hand. It was a folded piece of paper. Harry looked around the room. Seamus and Dean seemed to be already asleep and Neville was still downstairs learning. He unfolded it.

_Meet me by the __Shrieking Shack tomorrow at one and take your invisibility cloak._

_E._

Harry smiled brightly deciding that he would go to Hogsmead after all.

* * *

Ten minutes before one on the next day Harry left Hermione and Ron in The Tree Broomsticks and headed for the Shrieking Shack. Before he arrived he put the invisibility cloak on in case there was someone else apart from Elena. Then he continued walking trying not to make too much sounds. 

Elena was alone leaning on the fence looking at the shack. Harry was about to put away the cloak when he had an idea. He sneaked quietly towards her. He stopped a few inches behind her, leaned forward without touching her and blew in her ear. Elena shrieked straightening up, hitting her back into Harry. She turned around taking a step back.

"Harry?!", she hissed glaring at him though she still couldn't really see him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Harry took of the cloak grinning, "Why, are you afraid of ghost?"

"Of course not. But it's not nice to sneak up behind people's backs and then to scare them. I'm really disappointed in you. Acting like a five year old, really", she shook her head disapprovingly, but he could hear the amusement in her voice.

"I'm very sorry, Miss. It won't happen again", he tried to sound serious, but failed miserably. "Anyway, why did you want to meet me here?"

"Draco's off to see his girlfriend and yesterday I heard Weasley telling you he wants to spend the afternoon with his. So since we're both left alone by our best friends I thought we could be together while left alone", she smiled sweetly.

"Are you following me around?"

"_No_. I was just at the same time as you by the door. Why should I follow you around?"

"Don't know. And what have you planed to do with me? Enjoy the 'beautiful' view of the Shrieking Shack?"

She glared at him again. "If you don't stop teasing me I'll just leave you here to enjoy the view."

"I didn't mean to tease you. I promise I'll do anything you want this afternoon if you don't go away."

"OK", she said smiling brightly, "I thought we could walk around a bit, the weather's great."

"Whatever you want. But why did I have to bring the invisibility cloak with me?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? We can't be seen together. You have to wear it, I won't draw much attention if I'm alone."

Harry nodded, "Where are we going?"

"A bit around Hogsmead. I don't have a real plan. We just go to places where we normally go with our friends. Maybe it would be better if you put on the cloak right away."

Harry nodded again, "You'll have to be careful when you speak to me so that no one gets suspicious."

"I know. I've never done something like that before, but I like trying out new things. Shall we?"

And they headed back to Hogsmead, Harry walking next to Elena under the invisibility cloak. As much as he would have wanted to do that openly there was also a good thing about being invisible – he could stare at Elena as much as he wanted without her noticing anything.

* * *

First they went to Honeyduckes. It wasn't too crowed and Harry had no problems following Elena around. He even managed to slip her some sickles to buy sweets for him too. She bought her self a couple of lollipops and put one into her mouth before they left the shop. Harry noticed that it was the same blue-green lollipop she had had when they had met accidentally in Honeyduckes. 

"What flavour is it?", he whispered while they walked down the street.

She took it out of her mouth to answer and he could only stare at her full lips – why did he had to ask?

"Sour apple. It's my favourite in Honeyduckes, I don't like too sweet things and the changing colours are really cool", she whispered back.

Elena stopped outside of a shop looking at the robes in the window. Harry could tear his eyes off of her lips long enough to look over the other side of the street. Madam Puddifoot's café was exactly opposite from where they were standing. He hadn't been in there since his 'date' with Cho. He didn't have any good memories of it and didn't really want to go in it at all, but if it was with Elena…

"Do you want to go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

She turned around to look at the café sceptically.

"I've never been in there. I thought it was place where you can show off your date. Do you like it?", she asked him surprised, turning back.

"No, of course not. I just thought most girls liked it."

"I'm not most girls."

"I know you're not. It was a stupid question, but what did you mean by showing off? I thought it was a place where you could talk or whatever in peace with your date."

"_Sure_. When you go there you're supposed to snog, aren't you? But why would you want to snog your girlfriend or whoever it is surrounded by all the other students if not to show off? If I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend 'in peace' I would go somewhere no one can see us. That way you can do whatever you want", she smirked, "Speaking of place no one can see you, do you mind going out of Hogsmead? It's not so much fun talking to an invisible person as I thought."

"I don't and I know the perfect place where no one will see us. Just continue walking down the street till we pass the last houses."

* * *

Harry led Elena to the small path which went to the cave where Sirius had been hiding. Elena conjured a blanket with her wand and they both sat on it. They could be seen from the road, but they were too far away to be recognized. They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes. Elena was leaning back on her hands with her eyes closed enjoying the sun and Harry was trying not to look at her too much. 

"It's nice to be in the sun again after the winter", she broke the silence.

"Mmm… Do you like sunbathing?", he asked to keep a conversation.

"Not just for the sake of getting tanned skin and normally I use a lot of sun protection. My skin's very sensitive and I had a couple of really bad experiences with sunburn when I was younger. And somehow every time I think about all the people who lie in the sun on their backs and then turn around and back again, I'm always reminded of a chicken being turned around over the fire. Anyway there are much funnier things to do when you're on the beach."

Harry lay back down sighing, "I've never been on a beach."

"Never? And what about a swimming pool or something like that?", Elena asked surprised lieing down on her side to face him with her right hand under her head.

"Never. And I can't really swim either."

"But what's the use of living with muggles if you can't do funny muggle activities?"

"Well, my relatives didn't want me to have fun, quite on the contrary actually. They did everything to prevent me from ever having fun. When they went somewhere I was left with an old lady who's definition of fun was to look over the photographs of all her cats. When I did something 'wrong' they locked me in the cupboard under the stairs for days. When I came back from my first year at Hogwarts they tried to stop me from returning by locking me in my room with bars on the window. The only things I knew about my parents before I became eleven were their names and that they had died in a car accident. Whenever I tried to ask my aunt about them she ignored me or punished me for asking questions."

None of them said anything for a while. Harry was staring at the blue sky above. He knew that Elena was looking at him, but he couldn't get himself to look at her right now.

"She has probably been very jealous of your mum."

Harry turned his head to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine your little sister turning out to have magical powers and going to a real school for witches and wizards while you couldn't do anything of the sort. Your aunt must have been really jealous."

"No. She hates magic and everything that has to do with it. She was just as afraid to say 'magic' as wizards are to say 'Voldemort'."

Elena smirked, "Exactly. She was jealous, but didn't want to admit it so she started to pretend that it was something bad. Maybe she really believes it by now, but that's no excuse for treating a small boy like you've been treated."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I won't be going back there again."

"And where will you live? With Weasley?"

"Maybe, I don't know yet. I could also live in the house Sirius left me in London."

After that they both lay on the blanket in silence lost in their own thoughts. When the sun began to set slowly, Elena stood up.

"I think we should go back to Hogwarts, Harry. It's getting late."

"Yeah", he said standing up too.

She vanished the blanket and they began to walk slowly to the stone fence. Harry helped her to climb over it and then they stood there for a moment looking at each other.

"I suppose it would be best if we separate here and not in the village."

"It would be", Harry agreed, but none of them moved.

"Harry…", she bit her lip, "What are you going to do tonight?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"We could watch a movie in the room of requirement after dinner. If you want to."

"I do. When exactly?"

"Half past eight?"

"Great. See you then!"

"Yeah. Bye!", she smiled and turned to walk to Hogsmead.

Harry waited a bit and then went after her.


	19. Kiss Me

**19. Kiss Me**

Shortly before half past eight Harry stood up from his chair in the Gryffindor common room and left taking his school bag, muttering to Neville he had to see something in the library. He wasn't quite sure if Neville had heard him since he was too absorbed in his Herbology text book. Harry hurried to the seventh floor seeing Pimki waiting for him before the room of requirement.

"Good evening, Harry Potter! Mistress is already waiting for you", she greeted him smiling.

"Hi, Pimki. How have you been?"

"Oh, very fine, sir. Thank you. But you shouldn't make my mistress wait too much", she said opening the door.

Harry went in. The walls were light blue and the carpet black, but there weren't any other decorations. Elena was sitting on the deep blue couch holding one of the pillows in front of her and staring into space. She wore black jeans and a dark pink t-shirt, her hair was down.

"Hi, Ellie!"

"Hi! Come and sit!", she said standing up herself leaving the pillow on the couch.

Harry watched as she walked to a table on the other side of the room where a bowl and two bottles stood. There were four blue and white pandas on her t-shirt and it showed off her curves perfectly, just like the jeans.

"Won't you sit down, Harry?", she asked him stopping with the bowl and the bottles in her hands. He looked up at her face – she was smiling slightly.

"Yeah…", he knew that he was blushing so he turned to go to the couch hoping against hope that she hadn't noticed what he had been staring at.

"I've got popcorn and cola. Since we have already had dinner I don't think we'll need anything else, but there's always Pimki", she said while sitting next to him.

She gave him one of the bottles and put the bowl between them. She started the TV with the remote control and turned off the lights with her wand – both had been lying on her side of the couch.

"Now we've got everything we need to feel as we were in the movie theatre. The screen's a bit small, but the couch is far more comfortable than the seats there", she smiled looking at Harry. "We'll be watching 'A Knight's Tale' by the way."

* * *

Elena sighed, "I love this movie! It's so sweet and funny and the music…"

"The music wasn't really medieval, was it?"

"Of course not! It's supposed to make fun of all the knight's tales. You can't do that with medieval music. The only thing that I didn't like much were the dresses of Jocelyn. Her maid's dresses looked better most of the time, but anyway it's just a lovely movie", Elena finished tuning out the TV. She waved her wand once and a couple of candles appeared floating in the air, by the second wave the empty bowl and bottles disappeared. "It's always good to watch a movie about knights though normally they don't have much to do with reality."

Harry stretched his whole body, his right leg was hurting a bit from him sitting on it. Elena stopped talking to look at him.

"If you want to you can lay down for a while to stretch properly. I wouldn't mind", she said putting a pillow on her lap. Harry couldn't truly believe what she was suggesting, but if she didn't mind he wasn't about to argue with her. He lay his head down on the pillow and stretched his legs to the other end of the couch, putting his hands on his stomach.

"So, take King Arthur for example. He's the prototype of a good knight."

"But aren't all the stories about him just legends?"

"Yes, but historians seem to think that a person named Arthur really existed and that he inspired all the legends. I watched a TV show a while ago where they tried to find out who that person really was. They came to the conclusion that it had been a Roman general who had protected the Empire's boarders in Britain somewhere during the second century I think. However, this general didn't command only Roman troops, he had also fighters somewhere from East Europe. And those looked a bit like knights though there weren't any real knights at that time – they rode horses and had a bit of metal armour. They even explained the story with Excalibur. Apparently it was very hard to pull out a sword from the soil in the place where those fighters lived originally, so when the general did it they began to worship him as something like a god. But what was really funny was that they actually found the general's grave, somewhere in a Roman graveyard in Croatia, after he retired he had been living there. So the great mystery of where King Arthur had been buried has been finally revealed", she laughed.

Harry was impressed, "Why do you know so much about muggles?"

"I told you I've been to muggle school and that I like history."

"Yeah, but _why_?"

Elena looked down at him smiling and stroking some hair from his face.

"Does it bother you that much?"

"I.. I'm just curious."

"OK, but I'm not quite sure myself. I've just always liked learning new things about different cultures and times. As for the muggle world I've been brought up to believe that the only difference between the muggles and us is that we can do magic, but that doesn't mean that we're better or more intelligent – which is quite obvious when you've met Crabbe and Goyle", they both laughed at that, "Magic is just an ability, like being good at quidditch or writing. It's true that muggles can't learn to do it, but that doesn't make them less worthy human beings. Besides since I can remember my best female friend has been a muggle. She knows I'm a witch, but that doesn't affect our friendship at all. Actually she's really good at brewing all the potion that don't need magic, Snape himself would be amazed by her potions. And she knows almost everything I know about the magical world – and that's a lot."

"Really?"

"Mmm…", Elena was smiling slightly staring in front of her, obviously lost in thought.

Harry didn't mind. She had began to stroke through his messy hair absently and – though he wasn't sure if 'just friends' would be doing something like that – he didn't want her to stop. He looked up her upper body. Her breasts seemed a bit bigger than the average – not that he was even near to being an expert on that topic. He hadn't noticed that before since you couldn't really tell when she was wearing school robes and the muggle cloths she had been wearing during their former meetings didn't underline them so much – or was it just his imagination? Anyway he didn't linger long on the thought of how it would feel to touch them, instead he looked further up. His eyes stopped at her neck, the skin seemed to glow under the candle light. His breathing quickened. Then up her chin and to her lips, how he wished to kiss them! Harry closed his eyes taking a deep breath to calm himself. Why did she have to make it so hard for him to see her just as a friend?

"Why did you kiss me?"

He opened his eyes not believing what he was hearing. Elena was still staring in front of her, stroking his hair. Maybe he had just imagined it.

"Harry?"

He hadn't.

"I thought we should forget about it and act as if it never happened."

"I've changed my mind."

"Do you do that often?"

"Depends", he could see her mouth curling in a little smirk for a moment. "You don't have to answer though. I just wondered", she said leaning her head backwards.

"I couldn't resist", she didn't say anything. "Why did you kiss me back?"

He couldn't see her face since she was leaning back, but she sighed.

"I couldn't resist… kissing the famous Harry Potter", if it wasn't for her mocking tone, he may have felt a bit offended. "Was it just to see how it would be or would you want to kiss me again – if I let you?"

He still couldn't see her face and his brain told him that the conversation was getting too dangerous, but he had a different feeling.

"I would never stop kissing you if I could", he confessed quietly.

Elena looked down at him at last. Her face was expressionless and Harry's heart was beating out of his chest in apprehension.

"Then kiss me", she whispered her lips curling up into a smile.

Harry sat up looking at her sparkling eyes. He caressed her cheek with his hand carefully afraid that she might change her mind any moment and push him away. She didn't and he ran his thumb across her lips. She wasn't smiling anymore, just staring at him with her lips parted slightly. Harry leaned and touched them with his own, closing his eyes. It was just as good as the first time, even better. Elena put her arms around his neck to bring him closer, she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Harry couldn't believe that he was really kissing her. His mind was getting clouded, he must be dreaming – nothing could feel that good in reality. There was just a small thing that nudged at him in the back of his head. He broke off the kiss, but stayed close to her face, the tips of their noses touching. Elena opened her eyes slowly.

"You won't change your mind again, will you?", he whispered unable to keep the fear from his voice.

She shook her head smiling.

"Stop thinking", she said before capturing his lips with hers again.

* * *

Harry woke up in the morning feeling happier than he remembered being in a very long time. He had had the best dream ever. He opened his eyes blinking a couple of times to adjust to the light and that was when he felt something heavy lying on top of him. He looked down. So it hadn't been a dream! Harry smiled from one ear to the other. He had kissed Elena! And not just once. They had been kissing till they fell asleep on the couch. And right now she was lying in his arms her head on his chest sleeping peacefully. Her hair was spread across their bodies. He had to admit that it looked quite messy, almost as much as his, but he loved it. Just like he loved every other part of her – in the moment even the fact that she was in Slytherin. But he surely wasn't about to tell her that - at least not yet. He took a hair strand away from her cheek carefully. He didn't want to scare her off again. He wasn't even sure what exactly they were now. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Or just friends who snogged from time to time? Or something completely different?

He heard a quite pop and Elena woke up. She raised her head looking around still half sleeping. Her eyes stopped on Pimki who had just appeared and Harry looked at her too.

"Good morning! Mistress wanted Pimki to come and wake you up at eleven o'clock."

"I don't anymore", Elena muttered closing her eyes and letting her head sink on Harry's chest again.

"But…", Pimki began before Harry interrupted her.

"Pimki, could you bring us something for breakfast - not much though, it's not long till lunch. I'll take care of Ellie, OK?"

Pimki nodded and disappeared.

Harry stroked through her hair lightly, "Ellie, we should get up", he whispered.

"Don't want to."

"Me either, but we have to."

"I've just had the best sleep in ages. It's still early."

"I know how you feel and I wish we could stay like this forever."

Elena opened her eyes to look at him, grinning. "We could. The only two people that know we're here are Pimki and Draco. Pimki won't tell anyone if I forbid it and I can tell her to poison Draco. No one would ever find us."

"As much as I love the idea of poisoning Malfoy", Harry smirked, "I'm afraid that we still can't stay here forever or even for the whole day."

"I know", she sighed, "It's unfair."

Harry was about to retort something when Pimki appeared again. She had a tray with small croissants and two glasses with juice on it. She put it on the ground in front of the couch.

"Breakfast, mistress"

Elena slipped down from Harry to sit on the ground, "Thanks."

Pimki disappeared while Harry sat next to Elena, who had already a croissant in her hand. "You know, I'm actually very hungry right now", she managed to say before biting off of it.

* * *

After they had eaten all of the croissants it was really time to leave the room of requirement. They both stood up to collect their things. Harry put his cloak on and went to get his school bag which he had left by the door. He turned around to look at Elena. She was glaring at her reflection in the mirror that had just appeared, trying to bring her hair in some order with her hands. Harry smiled to himself and went to her.

"You don't look bad", he said and she glared at him too.

"You don't have to act nice and lie just because we made out once."

"I hoped it wouldn't stay by that one time."

She looked at him again, smiling this time, "Me too, but you still don't have to lie about my hair."

"I wasn't. It's true that it's very messy right now, but it _doesn't_ look bad."

She shook her head in disbelieve, but gave up trying to make it look better. She just took out an elastic band from her pocket and bound her hair with it.

"Ellie?"

"Mmm", she was still looking at her reflection not quite happy with it.

"What are we now?", a really stupid question, but he had to know.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we aren't just friends anymore, are we?"

She looked at him thoughtfully and the mirror disappeared.

"I suppose not, but I don't know what we are. Can't we just let it go and see what happens?", she said taking a step towards him.

"We could", she was very near now.

"You don't mind?", she asked, but didn't give him a chance to answer by pulling him down to her for a kiss.

"I don't", Harry said when they broke apart, not quite sure what he 'didn't' though.

Elena just smiled kissing him again, "Do you have your invisibility cloak with you?", she breathed into his ear making him shiver.

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought I may take you to Gryffindor tower. It's almost on my way back and I want to be sure that you get there safe", she kissed him again.

They stood there for a while just kissing then Elena stepped away from him.

"If we keep doing that, we won't get out of here till tomorrow", she went to the door and Harry as much as he didn't want to had to follow.

"Won't you give me the invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah, sure", he took it out and handed it to her.

She put it on and opened the door making sure there was no one outside. They walked to Gryffindor tower whispering something to each other from time to time, they didn't meet anyone except of two ghosts. When they reached the corridor of the Fat Lady, Harry was about to ask Elena if she would go to the portrait hole, but she pulled him to her throwing the cloak over him too. Before he had fully understood what was happening she was already kissing him. He responded immediately pushing her against the wall. They stopped kissing, however when they heard laughter. A group of young Gryffindors were coming their way. Harry and Elena froze trying not to make a sound which wasn't that easy since they were still both breathing heavily. Thankfully the Gryffindors passed them too wrapt in their conversation to notice, they entered the common room shortly after. Harry looked at Elena.

"Maybe you should go already. It's not like we won't see each other ever again", she added chuckling.

She gave him one last, long kiss before going from under the cloak and running in the opposite direction of his common room. Harry sighed taking off the invisibility cloak and putting it into his bag. He went slowly to the portrait of the Fat Lady already smiling at the thought of his next meeting with Elena. He said the password lost in thought and entered the common room.

"_Harry James Potter_, where the hell have you been?", he froze looking at the furious face of Hermione Granger.


	20. Best Friends Troubles

**20.**** Best Friends Troubles**

Harry froze though his heart was beating wildly. He just stared terrified at Hermione half noticing Ron next to her and Neville and Ginny behind her.

"Well?"

Harry opened his mouth, but closed right away not knowing what to say. His brain seemed to have melted away. He looked around the room trying frantically to think of some excuse. Many of the Gryffindors in the common room were now staring at them.

"Uh, Hermione, can't we discuss that somewhere else?", Harry tried afraid that she might hex him any moment.

She continued to glare at him, but before she could say anything Ron nudged at her elbow.

"Let's go to our dormitory", he had obviously noticed the stares too.

Hermione glared at Ron, but then she realised that she was making a scene in front everybody. She turned around on her heals and headed to the staircase without a word. Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny followed her.

Harry was the last and he could hear the starting whispers of the other Gryffindors when they disappeared up the staircase to the boy's dormitory. He tried to calm himself but in vain. He wasn't ready to tell his friends about Elena, but he also had no idea how to explain his absence without mentioning her. And the fact that he hadn't seen Hermione that furious in a very long time didn't help his nerves at all. 

They walked in and Harry closed the door behind them. He looked at his friends trying at least to act as normal as possible. Hermione was still glaring daggers at him and Ron seemed angry too, now that he looked at his best friend closer. Ginny was slightly angry and Neville looked very concerned. At least Dean and Seamus weren't there.

"So? Where have you been all night? And don't even try to lie that you've just woken up early. We know that you haven't slept in your bed and no one has seen you since yesterday evening. It's half past twelve now. Do you have an idea how worried we were? We.. we thought _he_ might have found a way to get to you at last", Hermione finished almost hysterically.

Harry's heart sank. Not for a moment had he thought that they might worry so much. How could he do something like that to his best friends?

"I…", he swallowed, "I was in the room of requirement", he looked at his feet too ashamed to look at them.

"The room of requirement?", Ron asked this time.

"Yeah. I was.. I went to the library to see something for DADA, like I told Neville. But on the way back I thought about all the noise in the common room and I wished I could go somewhere to study in peace. It was too late to stay in the library and then the room of requirement came to mind and I went there. I fell asleep while reading. When I woke up I came here immediately", he couldn't believe how smooth he had said all the lies – what was wrong with him? "I'm really sorry, guys. I didn't mean to scare you or make you worry. It was a very thoughtless thing of me to do. I'm sorry", and he really was - for everything.

"Well… If that was it I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose."

Harry looked up. Ron seemed relieved now and so were Ginny and Neville, but Hermione was still eyeing him suspiciously.

"And you probably wouldn't have gone to the room if we hadn't let you all alone yesterday, right 'Mione?", Ron tried to pacify her, falling miserably.

"It won't happen again, Hermione, I swear", Harry said looking directly into her eyes.

Hermione just glared at him one last time and left the room without looking at Harry, Ginny followed her immediately.

Ron shrugged.

"She'll get over it, Harry. We were just really scared that something had happened to you", Neville nodded behind Ron.

"I'm sorry", no matter how often he said, it didn't make him feel any better.

"I know, mate", Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Are you coming to lunch?"

"Go ahead. I want to change first."

"OK, but don't dawdle too much. Come, Neville!"

The two boys left Harry alone and feeling terrible.

* * *

Very late that night Harry lay in bed trying to fall asleep. He turned around to lie on his stomach burring his head in the pillow in frustration. The last time he had checked his clock it had been almost tree in the morning, but he just couldn't stop thinking – his brain was working on it's own, he had no power over it anymore. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Finally he had found a girl he liked very much and he couldn't tell his best friends anything about her. He had to lie to them to be with her. Why? Why did she have to be in Slytherin and Draco Malfoy's best friend? He really wanted to tell at least Ron and Hermione about Elena, but he knew it would make things even worse. He wasn't sure how they would react if he told them, but what he was sure of was that they wouldn't take it well. Hermione would probably think he had been bewitched or something or that it was a part of one of Voldemort's plans to get to him. And Ron? Ron would be furious that he had fallen for Slytherin's seeker. He would think that it was Malfoy's plan to beat them and to win the cup. Ron may feel betrayed and even stop talking to him. Well, Hermione hadn't talked to him the whole day anyway, but the two of them were still his best friends. They were always there for him through all his troubles and bad moods. And they still wanted to be although they knew the prophecy and the great danger they were in because of him. How could he lie to them like that because of some girl?

Harry was almost disgusted with himself. Almost. Elena wasn't some girl, she was so much more and he knew that all too well. Cho Chang was nothing compared to her though he had had a crush on her for two years. He couldn't quite explain it, but when he was with Elena he felt at peace, he felt save. Voldemort and everything else seemed like things from an another world, which had nothing to do with him. Her presence made him forget all his problems. When she was in his arms it was as if nothing could happen to him as long as she was there. And when they kissed… well, that was pure heaven. Finally Harry allowed the memories of the previous night and the morning after to come back into his mind, making him forget all his worries. Not long after that he fell asleep with a small smile on his lips.

* * *

When he woke up a couple of hours later, however, all the guilt was back, stronger than ever. He felt miserable and he also looked like it. He still looked so downcast at lunch that Hermione started to talk with him again, suggesting that she may have overreacted a bit. He managed a faint smile at her before looking back down at his plate. He still felt ashamed, so ashamed actually that he hadn't looked at Elena once since the previous morning – now he was even sitting with his back to the Slytherin table. There was also another reason why he didn't want to look over at Elena. Hermione may have not been talking to him the previous day, but she had been following all his movements to find a clue that he had been lying. And if that wasn't enough she wasn't the only one. Since her little outburst the strangest rumours had spread across Hogwarts. The Gryffindors in the common room at that time hadn't really heard much, but obviously enough. One of the simpler theories was that he had been meeting some girl in secret. However, on his way to Transfiguration he had also heard two Hufflepuffs saying that he had secretly been learning the Dark Arts and planning to join Voldemort. He really couldn't believe that he had been so happy the previous morning.

After lunch Harry walked to DADA with Ron, Hermione and Neville and he wondered for the first time how Elena would act towards him after he had obviously ignored her the whole time. He realised that it wasn't exactly the best thing to do after you had snogged with a girl for the first time. Fear began to spread in his mind. Had he messed up? Exactly when they had come closer he had to act like an idiot. Would she forgive him? When they reached the class room she wasn't there yet. Harry sat on their desk taking his things out. He waited for her to come anxious about the consequences of his behaviour. When she came in with Malfoy she glanced at him for a moment and that was it – she didn't look at him again. He had messed it up. Harry looked down at his hands. Could a week start in a worse way?

* * *

DADA was an agony for Harry. Elena ignored him like she kind of ignored that she was actually in class. The whole time she scribbled things on her parchment not looking up once – as far as Harry could say. Now after the lesson had ended her parchment was much more blue than white from the scribbles. Most of it were just lines, but there were also a couple of words Harry didn't understand. She didn't even write down their homework and when he had already packed his things, she was still putting hers in her bag. Normally she was the first to leave the class room – she was really acting out of character and Harry hoped that it didn't mean that she was very angry at him. He started to walk slowly towards Ron and Hermione who were already waiting for him.

"Potter! I want to do the homework now."

He turned around. Elena was still looking down at her bag and he was amazed that she had actually realised that they had homework.

"Any objections?", she asked looking at him with an indifferent expression.

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione. Ron just shrugged and Hermione smiled sympathetically at him before they went out. He looked back at Elena, "No."

"Let's go then", she motioned him to go ahead.

They walked through the corridors in silence and with a big distance between them. Harry wished she would come nearer, but on the other hand the students they passed were already staring at them suspiciously as it was. When they reached an empty corridor Elena broke the silence.

"I heard that you have a secret boyfriend", she said grinning at him.

"It's not funny", but he smiled slightly anyway – maybe she wasn't upset after all.

"Some of the rumours are. But what happened yesterday?", she asked with a more serious expression.

Harry sighed.

"My friends had found out that I didn't spend the night in my bed and when I came in the common room they were waiting for me. Hermione was furious and she asked in front of everyone where I had been. And that was it more or less – we went to my dorm to talk", he said trying not show how much it bothered him.

"Well, the best rumours always come from nothing or almost nothing. And what did you told them where you had been?"

"I told them that I went to the room of requirement to learn and fell asleep in there."

Harry looked at his feet and Elena didn't say anything further so they walked in silence once more. Shortly before they reached the library she pulled him by the hand in an empty class room. She locked the door and made a silencing charm before facing Harry.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing", he said still looking at his feet.

"You're an awful liar, Harry. Do you want to end our relationship?"

His head shot up to look at her, fear written all over his face. "No", his voice was a bit louder than he liked.

Elena smiled briefly.

"Good. So what's the problem?", she asked putting her bag on the nearest desk and sitting on it. "It couldn't be just the rumours?"

Harry shook his head.

"I could help if you told me. And I've heard that even just talking about your problems helps. You look miserable, Harry."

"Thanks."

Elena just smiled at him, "Sit down and tell me."

Harry sat down in the chair in front of her deciding that telling her couldn't make anything worse.

"I just wished I could tell Ron and Hermione about us. They're my best friends and I hate lying to them."

"You haven't told them anything about me, I assume?"

"They know only that we're working partners. Yesterday they were really worried that something had happened to me and I didn't even think about them."

Harry buried his head in his hands and Elena looked at him for a couple of minutes thinking.

"We have to be more careful in the future so that they don't notice anything wrong and start to worry", she said finally. "Or do you really want to tell them _now_?"

"Not really", he sighed looking at her again.

"Then look at it that way: we've just started to have something more than friendship and it's not wrong to want to keep it a secret till we see if it works. Everybody deserves some private life after all."

Harry smirked slightly, "That doesn't sound bad, but Malfoy knows. It's not really a secret, is it?"

"_Well_, yeah. He knows, but he kind of knew it before I did - it's not the same", she said quite fast, her cheeks getting a bit red. "I won't tell him anything anymore if you don't want me to."

Harry's smirk grew, "He knew before you did? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing", he raised one eyebrow, "He just… just… he had just been telling me that something like that may happen since Christmas. I always disputed it, but after you kissed me the first time he got really annoying about it", she looked down at her hands blushing furiously.

Looking down didn't stop Harry from noticing though since he was sitting in a chair and she on the desk. It was the first time he saw her so uncomfortable, so unlike her normally composed self and he thought that she looked really sweet.

"So that was what he said he had been right about", he said more to himself than to Elena.

"What?", she looked at him surprised.

"When he asked me what had happened when I kissed you, he mentioned that he had been right about something and you wrong."

"Did he?", she said looking over his head with an expression that clearly meant trouble for Malfoy.

This was turning out to be quite an amusing conversation for Harry.

"And why did he think that something was going to happen between us?"

Elena blushed again.

"Don't know. He mentioned something about me having read and seen too many love stories or something of the sort, but… that's not the point, Harry. We were talking about _your_ friends."

"But we already cleared _that point_", Harry smiled innocently at her. "We'll keep our relationship a secret for now."

"You're OK with it?", she asked sceptically.

"I'll get over it. You could help", he added standing up.

"And how exactly?"

Harry put his hands on her waist. He leaned in to give her a short kiss.

"Like this."

"Aha… and why would I want to?", she asked him playfully while putting her hands around his neck.

"Because it was your idea."

"I suppose it would be just fair then", she said grinning before kissing him.

Harry responded quite passionately putting his arms around her. Elena pulled him closer to her, running one of her hands through his hair and the other down his back. He thought that he could stay like that forever, but instead he decided to leave her lips kissing his way down her neck. And Elena leaned her head back to give him better access. Then something popped into his mind out of nowhere.

"What about our DADA homework?", he mumbled against her skin.

He heard and felt her sigh deeply.

"How can you think about DADA right now?", she asked annoyed.

"We're supposed to be doing it right now, aren't we?"

Elena pushed him a bit away from her to look into his face.

"Do you prefer writing DADA homework than _this_?"

"Of course not! It would just seem strange if we had to meet again to write it."

"I'll steal Draco's essay. Happy?"

Harry nodded shortly before returning to his former occupation with a grin.


	21. Sneaking Around

**21. Sneaking Around**

Harry and Elena decided that it would be best if Harry told Ron and Hermione that he went to the room of requirement to study Potions. He told them that he had found out that he could learn Potions better when he was alone. After all the years with Snape taunting around him he said that he felt a bit paranoid when someone was watching him. Ron and Hermione believed it although of course Hermione always checked if he had really done everything. Harry could live with it well enough since it wasn't completely a lie. He did spend the time in the room of requirement and Elena had started helping him to study Potions. They didn't learn _all_ the time, but that was a minor fact which as Harry had convinced himself wouldn't hurt his two best friends if they didn't know.

So additionally to the time he spend with Elena in the library doing DADA now they also had the time when he 'studied' Potions. Naturally that still wasn't enough and they met in empty corridors and class rooms whenever they could between classes. The first one of those meetings had been on the next day right after Potions. Snape had been quite mean to Harry after his potion had turned purple in the end instead of red and if it had been any other time he would have gone in a bad mood to lunch. However, after Harry saw Elena packing her things very slowly and sending Malfoy to go ahead, he had done the same telling Ron and Hermione not to wait for him. They had been the last to leave the class room and when the door had closed behind them Elena had dragged Harry in a small and dark hallway not far away. Therefore when Harry came to lunch some time later he had problems suppressing a huge grin. By the end of the week he had already memorised Elena's timetable and found out that the Charms class room was very near to the one for Muggle Studies. Which turned out to be very handy since he had Charms the same time she had Muggle Studies – according to her a subject she was taking just because it was very easy to get top grades.

On Friday evening Harry reflected what had happened the previous week while sitting in his favourite armchair in front of the fire in the common room. For a week that had begun so terribly it had turned out more than perfect. He was really happy and that all the time. The good feeling he got from being with Elena had also a positive impact on his behaviour towards Ron and Hermione. He could talk and laugh with them like he hadn't done in ages.

He grinned remembering his conversation with Elena earlier that day. He had asked her if it had taken her much time to write the DADA essay from Monday on her own, since they hadn't made it to the library at all that day. And Elena had just smirked shaking her head:

"_I told__ you I would steal Draco's, didn't I?"_

"_You really did? I thought you were joking."_

"_Of course I did. I took it yesterday so that he wouldn't have time to write a new one. That's what he gets for talking nonsense in front of you."_

"_What nonsense?... Oh!", Harry smirked, "But didn't you say he had been…"_

"_That doesn't matter. I'm always right. And whoever claims that I'm not will have to deal with the consequences."  
_

"_OK, I'll remember that."_

"_Very wise of you, Mr Potter. Now let's come to the really important things…", she said with a grin before kissing him._

Yeah… The really important things. Harry smiled foolishly. He would have plenty of time to 'discuss' those things with Elena the next day in the room of requirement while they 'studied' Potions.

* * *

On the next afternoon Harry and Elena sat on the ground in the room of requirement with a small table in front of them. Elena had managed to make a very soft carpet so that they didn't need cushions to sit on. Right now she was explaining to him the most important thing about the potion they had to write about and which they would be then doing during their next lesson. Harry was becoming a bit frustrated, because the writing was taking them too long. He didn't want to complain though since it was mostly his fault – he could hardly concentrate enough to write three sentences right. Elena was sitting next to him and how was he supposed to concentrate on Potions of all things? So instead he leaned over her shoulder as if to read what she had already written, but instead he kissed her neck bringing his arms around her waist. He sucked gently on the skin below her ear.

"If you don't mix them… Harry, stop it!"

"What?", he asked blinking innocently with his arms still around her.

Elena glared at him.

"You know perfectly well that if we don't do the essay first we won't do it at all. Not that I mind, but Granger'll get suspicious. And you don't want that to happen, do you?"

Harry shook his head letting her go.

"Well then, sit on the other side of the table."

"Why? I won't do it again. I swear."

"Whatever. Schoolwork comes first. Sit there! So that I'm sure you're out of reach."

"_Ellie_", he pleaded.

"_Harry_, go and sit there! We don't have the whole day."

He frowned a bit, but did as he was told. They really didn't have the whole day time and there were still other things he wanted to do with her.

* * *

On Sunday Harry could only see Elena at lunch. She had quidditch practice in the afternoon and he had told Ron and Hermione that he would do Transfiguration and Herbology with them. He struggled quite a lot with McGonagall's essay since he couldn't stop thinking about Elena and the fact that the next time he would be able to kiss her wouldn't be until the next day. When he finally finished writing he looked at his watch. Elena's practice should be ending in a couple of minutes. He drove a hand through his hair thinking. Maybe he could sneak to the quidditch pitch and catch her before she went back to her common room. They wouldn't have much time, but it was at least better than no time at all. So he told Ron – Hermione had gone to take some book from the library – that he needed a bit fresh air before he could continue with Herbology. Ron nodded absently still writing his Transfiguration essay and Harry hurried up the stairs to his dormitory to take his jacket and the invisibility cloak.

When Harry arrived at the pitch the Slytherins were already in the locker room. He waited outside raped in the invisibility cloak. First came Crabbe and Goyle and then one of the Chasers still in their quidditch robes. The other two followed shortly after - they didn't seem too pleased though and were whispering something to each other. This left only Elena and Malfoy still inside which wasn't so bad. After all Malfoy knew about their relationship and Harry could talk to Elena in front of him if it was necessary. A while later Malfoy came out too – alone and in his school robes. Harry remained standing where he was for another minute and then decided to go inside.

He entered the Slytherin locker room. He had never been in there and had actually never thought he would want to go inside, but he had also never imagined falling for Slytherin's seeker. He looked around. The room was very similar with Gryffindor's except that instead of red it was green of course. Elena, however, wasn't there. He started to think that he had somehow missed her when he heard a noise from the captain's changing room, the door was opened slightly. He moved silently towards it and cracked it a bit more to look inside. Elena was there brushing her hair. Harry took off the invisibility cloak and went through the door.

"Had a nice practice?", he asked casually with his hands in his pockets.

Elena turned around.

"Are you spying on us?", she asked and put the comb on the table next to her.

"Of course not. I came after you had finished."

"And why?"

"Can't you imagine why?"

"Not at all! Could there be a reason why Gryffindor's greatest seeker in ages would want to sneak in Slytherin's locker room?", she asked him mockingly.

"If you put it that way maybe there isn't, but in my function as your – hm – sort of boyfriend I have one."

"Which would be?"

"I have to get sure you didn't get hurt and to encourage you to continue training hard so that you can beat Gryffindor in the last match."

"Yeah, _right_. And while you're at it you could just let me win."

"Never. But to come back to your question – the truth is I got awfully bored with homework and decided to come and snog you a bit."

Elena rolled her eyes crossing her arms in front of her.

"I'm not snogging with the enemy."

"Since when?"

"Five minutes ago."

"Is there anything I could do to change your mind?"

"Not really."

"So I've sneaked in here in vain?"

"Well at least you were lucky the others didn't catch you. Otherwise you would be dead or very near it by now", she said smiling sweetly.

Harry frowned at her and Elena tilted her head to the side slightly.

"When do you have to go back?"

"Soon. I told Ron I needed a bit fresh air", not a second after he had uttered the last word her lips were on his. Harry put his arms around her pressing her against him. He was glad she had already changed in her school robes. That way the reality of kissing _Slytherin's_ seeker in the _Slytherin's_ locker room didn't seem too real to him.

* * *

In DADA class on Monday Harry copied what was written on the black board. He glanced at Elena shortly. She wasn't writing, but at least she seemed to listen to what Rush was saying and that was really something in her case. Normally she was just looking out of the window or into space and sometimes they played silly games on their parchment. He knew by now that this lack of attention had to do with the fact that she disliked the subject. He wasn't absolutely sure if she acted differently in other classes since the only other subject they had together was Potions and whoever tried to do nothing during Potions wasn't right in the head. What he didn't quite understand though was why she was so good in DADA when she didn't like it at all. Maybe she just disliked having low grades more than…

Harry inhaled sharply. He looked at Elena. She was still looking at Rush with her left hand under her chin. Her right hand, however, was under their desk and more precisely on his thigh, just above his knee. He looked around. No one could really see what she was doing since they were sitting in the back. And as he thought about it he doubted it that she would be doing something like that if she wasn't sure that no one would notice. No one except of him of course, but that didn't stop him from getting red when she moved her hand up slowly. Harry tried to concentrate on what Rush was saying which wasn't of any use since normally she was almost as boring as Binns. So he tried to think of something else, but the only thing that came to his mind was what he wanted to do with Elena – what he would have done if they were alone. And if she didn't stop it – her hand was already dangerously high up his thigh – he wasn't sure he could stop himself from doing something stupid in front of everybody. He leaned a bit towards her, still looking at Rush.

"Didn't you say that schoolwork comes first?", he whispered to her.

Elena grinned slightly also still looking at the front of the class room – her hand had stopped moving.

"In contrast to you _I_ can tell important schoolwork from not at all important."

"So DADA isn't important?"

She nodded.

"And Potions is?"

She nodded again moving her hand higher. All rational thought flew away from Harry's mind. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from moaning.

"Please, stop!", he hissed.

She turned her head to him slightly, smiling innocently.

"That bad, Harry?"

"Yeah."

Elena turned her head back to the front of the room hiding a huge grin with her left hand and moving the other away from Harry. And immediately he wished she hadn't. He shook his head slightly not to draw any attention. This wasn't the right place to do what he wanted. So he took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself. He was so concentrated on trying to forget what she had just done that he almost missed it when Elena whispered to him: "We'll do the homework right after the end of class."

* * *

That day they began to meet in the room of requirement at night. Almost every second night Harry sneaked out of his bed after everybody had gone to sleep. He pushed closed the curtains of his four poster so that if any of the other boys happened to wake up they wouldn't notice he was gone. He spent most of the night with Elena and sneaked back early in the morning – they had an alarm clock set for 5:30 in case they both fell asleep. The hours with her in the room of requirement were a dream come true for Harry. Although they didn't make out all the time since often they were just too tired for it – with school, N.E.W.T.s, quidditch and of course not sleeping enough due to the sneaking out. In such cases they lay in each other's arms and talked. Elena told Harry about her childhood and he told her about his 'adventures' at Hogwarts through the years trying to mention the Dursley's as less as possible.

About a week later they were there again. The only light in the room came from four candles floating in the corners. Elena was half lying on the couch and Harry was lying stretched on it with his head on her stomach. She was stroking through his hair – something she seemed to enjoy very much since she did it whenever she could. Harry was just telling her about his fifth year and how frustrated he had been because no one had wanted to tell him what was going on.

"I was only told what the order was in general and that they tried to protect some weapon from Voldemort. Even Sirius didn't really want to tell me more about it."

"What weapon?"

"The prophecy about me and Voldemort, but I found that out when it was too late."

"The prophecy? How is it a weapon?"

"Well Voldemort didn't know it all and he still doesn't because it got broken. Dumbledore told me the whole prophecy afterwards – he had been there when it was made."

"Yes, but I still don't understand how Voldemort could have used it as a 'weapon'. I mean it would have helped him if he had known it all before he had tried to kill you the first time, but now?"

"I'm not sure, but… Wait a minute. How do you know what the prophecy says?", Harry said sitting up to get a better look at Elena. "I didn't tell you about it."

She turned her face away from him.

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"The problem is that it's not my secret – it's my mum's."

"Is she going to be very angry if you told me?"

"Probably. But she would be if she found out about us anyway."

"She wouldn't want you to be with me?"

Elena bit her lower lip, "No. She wouldn't want _you_ to be with me. I'm too evil for you."

"Your mother thinks you're evil?"

"Oh, yes. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't love me or something, not at all. It's just a Slytherin thing, you wouldn't understand it. However, I could easily corrupt your innocent Gryffindor soul", she said sitting on his lap and putting her hands around his neck. "If I wanted to."

"And how are you going to do it?"

"There are different ways", she answered grinning evilly.

Then she kissed him pressing her body to his. Harry's arms went around her immediately. The kiss was making him light headed and he broke it after a while to take a breath. Elena used this to start kissing his jaw and then down his neck. She shifted her hips slightly and he groaned. One of his hands slipped under her shirt to caress the bare skin of her back. Suddenly the back of the couch against which Elena had been pressing Harry folded down backwards and he found himself lying on his back with her sitting on top of him.

"Was this on purpose?", he asked her after the shock had worn off.

Elena had stopped kissing him and seemed just as surprised.

"Not really. I just wished you were lying down and it happened."

She started giggling and buried her head in his chest. Harry grinned.

"Be careful what you wish next time, we're in the room of requirement after all."

"Why?", she asked putting her hands beside his head, towering above him. "Do you think your clothes would disappear if I wished it?"

Harry put his hand around her neck to bring her face to his, his other hand on her thigh.

"First you can do that only if it's both our clothes. Second you're trying to distract me from our conversation about the prophecy, aren't you?"

"Maybe", she said licking her lips which were just inches away from his.

"It works", he whispered before pulling her head down for another hungry kiss.


	22. Revelations

**22.**** Revelations**

A couple of days later Harry was still in the best mood. Everything seemed to work just as it should. Quidditch practices were going well, he had no problems with any subject – even Potions. During their last lesson his potion had turned out almost perfectly and Snape couldn't really accuse him of doing anything wrong. He couldn't hate the subject anymore, because every time he thought about it the memories of the time spend with Elena in the room of requirement came to his mind. So even Snipe's meanest comments couldn't take away the happy feeling Harry got when he thought about Potions.

It was Friday evening and Harry was getting ready to go to bed. It wasn't very late, actually all of the other boys were still in the common room. Harry, however, was tired since he hadn't slept much the previous night due to Elena. And he also wanted to be fully rested to be able to do everything he had before meeting her again after her quidditch practice on the next day. He wasn't really worried that he wouldn't finish studying in time though. Elena had made a learning program for him so that he wouldn't stay behind because of their meetings. Thankfully in contrast to Hermione's learning programs Elena's had breaks planned in too, which made it also much easier to accomplish. When Harry had commented on it in front of Elena, she had told him that after seven years of taking care that Crabbe and Goyle learned something she had just got used to not taking things too seriously.

Harry was just buttoning up his pyjama top when he heard a quite pop. He took his wand looking around, but he couldn't see anyone.

"Don't worry, Harry Potter. It's just Pimki", he looked in the direction from which her voice was coming – somewhere at the foot of Ron's bed. But there was nothing except of – Harry narrowed his eyes - a piece of paper floating in the air.

"I thought house elves can't become invisible", he said when the piece of paper began to move towards him.

"That's right. Mistress made Pimki invisible in case there was someone else in here. Pimki has to leave this note for Harry Potter", she said and the piece of paper stopped in front of him at the high of his stomach.

Harry took it and heard the soft pop with which Pimki disappeared immediately. He turned it around in his hands wondering why Elena had send it. He had seen her just two hours ago – why hadn't she told him then instead of sending a note? His heart began to beat a bit faster. Had something happened? Did she want to break up? Harry swallowed. No. There was no reason why she would want to end their relationship – he knew she enjoyed it as much as he did. It was silly to worry about something like that, he just had to read it. Maybe she had decided she wanted to see him tonight. He opened the note:

_Come to the room of requirement tomorrow at 10:30. I've got to tell you something._

_E._

Harry sat back on his bed looking at the note in his hands. At least she didn't say she wanted to end things – not yet. What was it that she wanted to tell him? And why had she written the note instead of telling him to meet her when they had seen each other the last time? Whatever this was about he had a feeling that she had been already thinking about it two hours ago.

* * *

Harry didn't see Elena at breakfast the next morning, but that wasn't unusual since she never came to breakfast on the weekends. And after trying to study a bit in the common room, Harry headed to the room of requirement at 10:15. He tried to think of all the possible things Elena might want to tell him which became scarier and scarier the nearer he came to the room. By the time he reached it his heart was beating out of his chest and his hand trembled a bit when he opened the door.

The room was smaller than normally when they met there. There were just two armchairs which were facing each other and Elena was already sitting on one of them hugging a pillow to herself.

"Morning", she smiled turning to him when he entered, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Morning! Has something bad happened?"

"Sit", she said ignoring his question.

Harry sat on the other armchair eyeing her in the process and wishing he could find out what was wrong by just looking at her. The only thing he could tell though was that she seemed nervous. Elena sighed.

"You wanted to know how I know about the prophecy about you and Voldemort?"

Harry looked at her for a couple of moments trying to remember that conversation – he had almost forgotten about it. Then he nodded.

"Well, like I said it's a long story and a complicated one too."

"So that's what you wanted to tell me?", he asked quite relieved that it was nothing about their relationship.

"Yes. And a couple of other things about me", she said pressing the pillow to herself. "I don't think you'll like it though."

Some of the worry came back to Harry while he waited for her to continue. He wondered what could be that bad to make her that nervous.

"So", she finally said biting on her lip, "I've never told you anything about my father."

"Not really."

"That's because he died about four months before I was born."

"I'm sorry", Harry said automatically.

"You shouldn't be. He was a death eater. They weren't married with my mum and she had no idea that he was in the beginning. When she found out she was already pregnant with me. My mum had been in Slytherin, but she never even thought of supporting Voldemort. As she found out my father was a death eater she turned him in and he got killed."

"So your mother…"

"Kind of murdered my father? Yes, but not directly of course."

Harry opened his mouth, but closed it again at a loss of words.

"That's not as bad as it sounds. You see she was worried about me, that's why she did it. It would have been quite hard to keep me away from Voldemort with my father being one of his closest followers. She did it to protect me and I don't blame her – especially now that I see what it is about to happen with Draco. His father isn't even as bad as mine had been from what I've been told. Lucius Malfoy just likes the idea of having a pure wizarding society, but my father had been more like Belatrix Lestrange. He liked torturing people and blood purity had been a welcome excuse. I don't know much about him, but he had been very close to Voldemort and at the same time acted so well that no one could have really guessed he had to do anything with him. My mum found out by accidentally overhearing a conversation between him and another death eater. She married a muggle shortly after I was born. Santos is his family name – my mum made everything she could think of so that Voldemort wouldn't take notice of me, which wouldn't work if I had my father's last name or my mum's either. They got divorced when I was four by the way."

Harry nodded staring at her – that was all he could do in the moment.

"But that's just a bit additional information. I want to tell you about my mum's family and then about her", Elena said looking at Harry, trying to find out how he had taken the facts so far. However, he wasn't sure himself how he felt about it so he just nodded again and she continued.

"Ever heard of Saldasovi?"

Harry shook his head.

"I thought so. Well, Saldasovi is the name of the oldest and 'purest' wizarding family in the world. The oldest written information about this family is from the Balkan region over 300BC. At this time the wizarding world was much closer to the muggle. It was actually a very different world from now. Anyway this family started making clothes for wizards. They used the expansion of Macedonia due to Alexander the Great to expand their business too. Later they became the main clothes manufacturer in the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rom they began to knot ties to wizarding communities all over the world. The begin of the Middle Ages was also the time when wizard began to back away from the muggle world and when this whole blood purity issue started. And at that time this family started a rule which said that their next heir had to marry a witch or wizard whose accentors had been 'purebloods' but also not directly related to them over five generations. This lead to marriages with wizards and witches from all over the world and of course the richer and more influential they were the better. So through the centuries this family formed connections to almost every country. Nowadays the Saldas label makes the most exclusive and expensive robes in the world – not that they really need the money, since they are supposed to be also the richest wizarding family. The current head of the family – Katherina Saldasova - has a lead position in the International Confederation of Wizards. They still have much power in many countries due to the respect and the fear which the family name causes and also the old family ties. There are many stories about them bad and good and strange. For example they're supposed to have at least one house in almost every country because of the different marriages."

Elena stopped for a moment, but Harry knew there was more and he had the feeling that it would be worse.

"Their children have been going to Hogwarts since the school exists. Most of them were in Slytherin, some in Ravenclaw and one or two in Hufflepuff, but the last hadn't been the heirs. And so another rumour about them is that they are related to Salazar Slytherin", she said looking Harry directly in the eyes. He stared back.

"Is it true?", he asked with a voice which didn't really sound like his.

Elena nodded and then looked down at her hands. Harry took a deep breath trying to calm himself before he continued.

"So if I got it right this family is your mother's family, your family. And that makes you the 'purest' witch alive and Slytherin's heir, right?", his voice was trembling slightly.

She nodded again.

"You're related to Voldemort!"

"If you mean having the same ancestor who lived over thousand years ago – then yes."

"And everything you have told me before were lies."

"No. Just because my family's like that doesn't mean…"

"That you're like them? Why are you in Slytherin then? Don't you think that it's the best house? That Slytherins are better than anyone else?"

"Oh, please! As if you don't think Gryffindor's the best."

"You admit it then? And Gryffindor wasn't a muggle murdering maniac."

"Slytherin wasn't that either. He had some extreme methods, but he just wanted to make Hogwarts the best magical school."

"So you _do_ think that muggleborns aren't good enough to attend Hogwarts?", Harry couldn't keep his voice down anymore.

"I think they weren't thousand years ago. That's a totally different thing and if you really knew something about history you would understand that."

"No, it's not. You're just like all the other arrogant and brainless Slytherins."

"_Brainless?!_", Elena almost screamed getting really angry too. "Do you know what's really brainless? Doing things without thinking or knowing what you're doing just because you think you're brave enough. What's so great about Gryffindor anyway? I can understand what's good about being in Ravenclaw, but _Gryffindor_?"

"And what do you want from me then? I am a Gryffindor", he shouted standing up.

"I thought you would be more open minded than the normal Gryffindors", she retorted also standing up, her eyes were flashing dangerously. "But obviously you're just as stupid as all of them", she hissed.

Harry blinked once.

"Are you speaking to me in Parseltongue?"

"Why not? You can understand it, can't you?", she hissed again.

"I can't believe I liked you. You're just like all the other Slytherins – no, you're worse!"

"Am I? I've never denied that I was a Slytherin. And you didn't seem to mind at all when we were making out."

"You… I…", Harry was so furious that he couldn't think straight anymore. He needed something on which to let out all of his anger – unfortunately the only thing he had at the moment was Elena. "I don't care! It was only because you lied anyway."

"I didn't!"

"Do you really think I would believe you after all you just told me? I was crazy to trust you in the first place! And I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore", her eyes widened, but he didn't even notice. "I'll ask Rush if I can sit somewhere else first thing on Monday. I don't want to talk with you, to be around you or to even look at you again. You're disgusting!"

They were standing just a few inches apart, staring at each other with hatred. Elena's whole body was shaking.

"Get out of here!", she said, her voice sharp as a knife and wasn't it for his blinding anger he could have become scared. "Or you'll wish I was Voldemort!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He crossed the room in a few long strides, opened the door with a quick powerful motion and shut it with a loud bang behind him – not once looking back.


	23. Denial

**23. Denial**

The sun was setting and Harry was sitting by the lake. He didn't remember how exactly he had gotten there. All he knew was that after he had left the room of requirement he had wanted to be away from everyone. He had been so furious that he would have hexed anyone who got near enough to him. Fortunately he hadn't met anyone till he had reached the furthest possible spot from the castle. And so the only things that got harmed by his rage were a couple of bushes, which he had turned to ashes.

He still couldn't believe that he had let it come to this. Why hadn't he noticed anything before? Why had he been so blind? He hadn't wanted to see how she really was. He had convinced himself that she was different, but she wasn't. She had deceived him and he had let her. Merlin! He had kissed Slytherin's heir! It was absolutely impossible. He had been leaving his two best friends to be with the daughter of a death eater. She wasn't just friends with the children of the death eaters - her father had been one. Damn her! He really didn't want to see her anymore or at least as less as possible. He hoped Rush would let him have another partner or do everything on his own and if she did he wouldn't have to be near Elena at all. He could live with her being in the same room during lessons as long as she was far away. The only time he would definitely have to be around her would be in the last quidditch game. But that wasn't too bad either, because he was determined to beat her and in the process Malfoy and Slytherin too. Seeing her anger and disappointment when she lost to him would surely make him feel better.

When Harry headed back to the castle it was already dark. He hadn't calmed down completely, but the last thing he needed right now was getting caught after hours and a detention. He reached Gryffindor tower just five minutes before curfew and went directly to his dormitory. He sat on his bed taking his shoes off. Then he took an almost empty bottle from the drawer of his nightstand - the remains of the sleeping potion Madam Pomfrey had given him a month ago. He climbed into bed not caring to change his clothes and pulled the curtains close sealing them magically. He drank all of the potion and fell asleep a couple of minutes later - free from all thoughts for the time being.

* * *

On Monday Harry left the Great Hall earlier. He wanted to ask Rush if he could change partners with someone. He was still angry at Elena and didn't want to be near her. He hadn't really seen her since he had left the room of requirement. He was happy about it, although he didn't feel good at all. But that was just because he hadn't slept much the previous night, which didn't have anything to do with her. Not directly… Oh, well it was because of her, but just because he wasn't able to stop thinking about her. And after he had fallen asleep shortly before dawn he had also had a terrible dream about her, but he _didn't_ miss her. He surely didn't miss her - not at all.

When Harry reached the DADA class room Rush was already sitting on her desk reading some papers. He went to her desk.

"Professor Rush?"

She looked up and Harry could see the surprise when she saw him, but she hid it almost immediately.

"What do you want, Mr Potter?"

"I was wondering if you could let me have another partner."

"Is there any serious reason why you don't want to work with Miss Santos?"

"Well, we… You know she's Slytherin's seeker and I'm Gryffindor's and the last game is in a couple of weeks. I'm sure you know about the great rivalry between our teams - we just can't work together."

"You didn't seem to have any problems with that so far, did you?"

"Not exactly, but…"

"You should be old enough to see the difference between quidditch and school work and what is more important. So if there's nothing else you'll continue to work with Miss Santos till the end of the year."

"But…"

"I don't make any exceptions, Mr Potter - not even for you. You'll do what you are told just like all the other students. Now go an sit on your desk."

Harry wanted to disagree, but he realised it would be in vain. He didn't have a really serious reason why he didn't want to study with Elena anymore - at least not one he could tell Rush about. He went slowly to his desk as the other students started to come in. He sat on the chair looking down. Elena would be coming soon too. She was going to sit next to him. He had no idea how to act when she did. Should he just ignore her like she had done a month ago? Or glare at her to show her he still didn't want her around? And what was she going to do?

As the lesson started Harry hadn't decided yet what to do, but it turned out it wasn't necessary because Elena still hadn't come. Malfoy was there and all the other Slytherins too. Had something happened to her or didn't she want to sit with him? Skipping classes to avoid him seemed a bit too exaggerated, but he wasn't going to complain about it. There was just something he remembered when Rush started to collect their homework: his essay was by Elena, they had written it on Friday. And now he was sitting in class without…

"Where is your homework, Mr Potter?", Rush had already reached his desk.

"It's… It's by Santos", he stuttered.

The teacher raised her eyebrows at him.

"And where is Miss Santos?"

"I have no idea."

Rush opened her mouth to say something, but Malfoy was quicker. He had turned around to look at them.

"She's still in the hospital wing, Professor. There was a bad incident during Charms", he said looking at Rush. And then turning his gaze to Harry, glaring at him he added, "And she told me that she gave Potter the essay yesterday."

"That's not…"

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter. And if I was you I wouldn't say anything further or you'll lose more points. Next time you don't do your homework you'll get a detention", Rush said walking away.

Harry glared back at Malfoy. For a couple of moments they looked at each other with matching hatred then Draco turned back to the front of the room. Harry continued to glare at the back of his head though. A bad incident during Charms? _Sure._ Elena was probably in their common room enjoying not being in DADA class.

* * *

On Tuesday morning Harry was feeling worse than the previous day. He told himself that it was just because he was going to see Elena again in Potions - the chance that she would skip it like DADA was less than zero. Snape was her head of house after all and he could easily find out if she did it. And as Harry remembered she thought that Potions was much more important than DADA.

When he, Ron and Hermione entered Snape's class room there was still no one there - it was a bit early. They sat on their usual place in the back and waited for class to begin. The room began to fill slowly and Harry could catch a small glimpse of Elena as she came in with Malfoy. She didn't seem different in any way to him, maybe just a bit paler, but he couldn't really tell. They sat on the first desk in the front and all Harry could see of her from that time on was her back. He watched for a while how her braided hair moved while she took out her things. Her hair… Harry smacked himself mentally looking away. He wasn't supposed to think about her in that way. The dreams about her were haunting him enough as it was. They weren't exactly nightmares - most of them were kind of memories about the time they've been together mixed with some of his fantasies. However, at the moment he wasn't sure if nightmares weren't better. He almost wished his old nightmares about Voldemort were back - those he had had after Sirius' death. Sirius… What would have he said if he knew what Harry was doing? He would probably be disappointed in him that he had let her play with him. Yeah, just like his father would be. And that she was in Slytherin's quidditch team wouldn't have helped at all. He was quite certain what Sirius and James would think about this horrible situation with Elena and his mother? He had never really heard that Lily disliked Slytherin like they did, but why wouldn't she? The Slytherins had surely called her 'mudblood' and made fun of her parents while she had been in Hogwarts - just like he had seen Snape doing it. So she wouldn't have liked him being with a Slytherin either. Elena just wasn't worth all the troubles she was causing, right?

Harry didn't pay much attention to what he was doing most of the time and when their time ended it was quite obvious that he had messed up his potion. Snape stopped to look at it with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Well, well, Potter. Just like I thought nothing has changed in your abilities to make potions or better not existent abilities. Whatever it was that had gotten into you last week didn't last long apparently. You can all pack your things and don't forget the essay for next week."

Harry glanced at the front for a moment. Malfoy was smirking at him, but Elena hadn't turned around. When Harry had put all his things in his bag he looked at them again, but they were already gone.

* * *

It was Friday evening Harry was reading his Transfiguration text book or at least he was trying. He had managed to read one sentence in the past fifteen minutes - he just couldn't stop thinking about Elena. He hadn't seen her once since Potions - not even from far away. She didn't come to the Great Hall for meals anymore and she hadn't come to the DADA lesson that day either. Obviously she had taken him by his word that he didn't want to see her again, but strangely he didn't feel better at all. He was still stubbornly trying to convince himself that it wasn't because he missed her. It was just because he had gotten used to seeing her very often in the past few weeks and now he felt odd that she wasn't around, but he would get used to that too.

"Calm down, love. He isn't worth it", he heard Ron's voice although he didn't sound very calm himself.

Harry looked up from his book. Ron and Hermione had just returned from the prefect's meeting and were getting seated on the couch next to him.

"What happened?", he asked looking between them.

"Malfoy! That's what happened", Hermione answered with a very annoyed tone.

"What did he do?", discussing how bad Malfoy was, was the perfect thing to stop him from thinking about Elena, Harry thought.

"He acted like the worst git during our whole meeting", Ron told him.

"That's nothing new."

"Well, yes. But… He just hasn't been that bad for a long time. I almost thought that being Head Boy had knocked some sense into him, but obviously I've been totally wrong", Hermione sighed.

"What do you mean with he hadn't been that bad?", Harry asked a bit confused.

"He was kind of indifferent towards me most of the time. He still acted as if he was something better and insulted me from time to time, but it seemed more like a habit than that he really meant it. Today he disagreed with absolutely everything I said. Even when I commented that it was already five past eight he had to correct me that it was seven past eight. And he managed to call me mudblood at least six times - without someone else hearing of course. I don't think he had done it so many times since the begin of the year. I have no idea what has gotten into him all of a sudden."

Harry fell silent while Ron and Hermione took their Transfiguration things out. He did have an idea what might have gotten into Malfoy as much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, because it would have meant admitting that Malfoy had acted better towards him and his friends because of Elena. A fact that didn't go too well with his current theory of how bad she was.

They started writing their homework in silence, which was broken only by Ron or Harry asking Hermione something about the essay. After half an hour of writing Harry's concentration began to fade away again. He frowned a bit. He was so fed up with thinking and worrying about Elena. Why couldn't she be a normal witch or better a muggle - everything would be so much easier. But no - she had to be from the oldest wizarding families. His frown deepened.

"Hermione, do you know anything about a family called Saldasovi?", he asked without really thinking.

"Of course, why?", she looked up from her parchment very confused.

"I just heard some strange things about them and wondered if they were true."

"With Saldasovi everything could be true", Ron said.

"You know them?", Harry turned to him surprised.

"Well, who doesn't? It's the oldest, wizarding family name in the world. And they're the richest family too", Ron looked almost as if he admired them.

Harry raised his eyebrows at him, "I didn't know them just a few day ago."

"And there isn't really a reason why you should, Harry". Hermione told him glaring at Ron slightly. "Do you think they're great or something, Ron?"

"They are. I mean they've not only managed to keep their business for over two thousand years, but they also played a role in many important events in our history."

"And I've read that they haven't let any of their children marry someone who couldn't prove he had magical ancestors for a couple of generations and that for centuries. They hate muggles and muggle-borns and they are surely all dark wizards and witches. How can you admire them?"

"No one has managed to prove that they have anything to do with the dark arts, though it may be likely. And they've never supported you-know-who."

"So what? It's not like they tried to fight him either."

"In their case, Hermione, not supporting him means a lot. Do you have an idea what would happen if they did? All wizards and witches who aren't sure what to do would follow them. Not to mention the international importance he would gain through them. They are the purest wizarding family in the world, but by not supporting you-know-who they give a signal that they don't agree with him although he says he's all for a pure blooded society."

"But that doesn't make them good either."

"I doesn't, but it has to stay that way or we'll be doomed. They're told to have all kind of information about magic stored at their home - information they've collected through centuries, Hermione. You-know-who would die to get access to it. I've also heard that compared to the protection of their main mansion Hogwarts's is like nothing."

"Whatever", Hermione sounded very annoyed at the fact that Ron was disagreeing with her so much. "We should go back to our homework", with that the conversation was over and they started writing again.

* * *

Harry went to bed right after finishing his Transfiguration essay. He had to think about everything Ron and Hermione had said in peace. It seemed that Elena had told him the truth on Saturday. Her family was for blood purity, but they didn't support Voldemort. Now he also understood why her mother had wanted her to be as far away from Voldemort as possible. Was it true that Voldemort would gain immense power if they supported him like Ron had said? What would happen if Elena decided to go to Voldemort? What if he had made her angry enough to want to take revenge on him? Could she be really that powerful? He knew she was very good at school and she surely knew many things, but would her help be enough to give Voldemort the ability to kill Harry once and for all? He hoped very hard that he hadn't caused anything that bad with his behaviour towards her. After all she had told him several times that she didn't support Voldemort's views and she didn't seem the person to let her emotions get the better of her.

Harry turned in his bed. It was already very late. The other boys were sound asleep like all the other Gryffindors Harry supposed. He sat up. It wasn't likely that he would fall asleep in the near future so why shouldn't he go to the common room to think if it was empty. It would be at least a change in the scenery. He went out of his dormitory and down the stairs quietly. The common room was indeed empty and he sat in an armchair in front of the dieing fire.

It was clear to him now that Elena didn't have anything to do with Voldemort and she didn't want to either. However, she was still Slytherin's heir too. And she had admitted that she thought that he had been right about not wanting muggle-borns in Hogwarts. He really didn't understand what a difference it made that it had been over thousand years ago - it was still ridiculous. But on the other hand she had also told him how much she loved the muggle world, her best friend was supposed to be a muggle. How did those two things go together? It didn't make any sense to him. If he could only get sure she hadn't been lying about what she thought about muggles. He needed to talk to someone who knew her good enough. But the only person in Hogwarts who knew her that good was Malfoy. Harry didn't want to talk with him and he also thought that by the way Malfoy had behaved the last couple of days he wouldn't want to talk with him either. There was no one else though - except maybe Pimki. Pimki, however, would tell him - if she came at all when he called her - only good things about Elena and that too wouldn't be very helpful. He needed someone who could give him an objective opinion about Elena. But it seemed that there wasn't anyone else who really knew her in the whole school. Harry sighed. He would have to talk with Malfoy or Pimki or just leave everything as it was. Who would be better to talk to? Elena's best friend or her house elf? Malfoy or a house elf? House elf or Malfoy? Harry froze for a moment. Why hadn't he thought about it earlier? He must know something about Elena. The question was only how much. Anyway it was worth a try.

"Dobby!", he called.

The house elf appeared after a couple of seconds with a mop in his hand.

"Harry Potter wants to see Dobby!", he squeaked.

"Yes, hi! I'm not stopping you from anything important, am I?"

"Not at all Harry Potter, sir. Dobby's doing just a bit of cleaning, but it can wait for a while."

"Good. So how have you been?"

"Very, very well. Hogwarts's a great place for a house elf - even one like Dobby."

"I'm glad you feel that way and I won't hold you back for too long. I just wanted to ask you a couple of things about someone though I'm not sure how good you know her", Harry explained while Dobby looked at him with his big eyes nodding at every word he said. "You do know Elena Santos, don't you? She's friends with Draco Malfoy and I thought that maybe she has visited him at his house."

Dobby began to nod at a rapid pace, "Yes, Dobby knows Miss Elena. She has been to Malfoy Manor a lot."

"So… What do you think about her?"

Dobby looked at him a bit confused.

"Uhm… I mean is she nice or more like Draco?"

"Oh, Miss Elena was very nice and polite with Dobby and Mister Draco was always…", Dobby made a face and Harry got ready to stop him from hurting himself, but it wasn't necessary. "…better than normal when Miss Elena visited."

"You don't think she could be evil?"

The house elf shook his head vehemently.

"Maybe she has just been acting nicely?"

"Why would anyone act for Dobby?"

"Yeah… right", Harry said slowly. "Do you know if she likes muggles?"

"Dobby doesn't really know, but once he saw Miss Elena showing Mister Draco a muggle magazine. That's all Dobby knows."

Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"Thanks, Dobby. You've been very helpful."

"Dobby is always glad to help Harry Potter", Dobby bowed while he said it.

Harry managed a slight smile at the house elf before he disappeared. The smile froze on his face immediately though. He closed his eyes leaning his head back. A terrible realization hit him. He had acted like a complete idiot. He couldn't blame Elena if she didn't want to see him ever again. He still loved her though - more than ever.


	24. Do You Forgive Me?

**24. Do You Forgive Me?**

On Saturday morning Harry almost fell from his broom a couple of times during quidditch practice. He had slept a bit more than an hour the previous night and the lack of sleep from the last couple of days was finally getting onto him too. The only really coherent thought that he could still muster was that he needed to make Elena forgive him. He hadn't slept much during their short time together either, but at least the kick he got from being with her was enough to make him do without much sleep. He needed her. He had been completely out of his mind when he had thought that he could live without her. He couldn't, not really - that was more than obvious to him now.

A bludger flew near Harry reminding him where he was. Thankfully he didn't have to dodge away from it, because he wouldn't have been able to. Harry concentrated on keeping his eyes open to search for the snitch, but the chance that he would see it in his current state was terribly small and the chance that he would actually catch it if he saw it not existent. After five more minutes of Harry floating in the air without much of a direction Ron got so frustrated with him that he told him to leave the practice and to go to Madam Pomfrey.

Harry landed on the ground somehow relieved and headed for the castle slowly, dragging his Firebolt behind him. He didn't go to Madam Pomfrey though, he headed straight to his dormitory. When he reached it, he let his broom fall on the ground next to his bed. He managed to pull the curtains close before he lay down - falling asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

He woke up a couple of hours later felling completely disoriented at first. Slowly he remember that he had been at practice for a while, but the whole time since he had woken up in the morning till he had fallen asleep was more or less a blur. Harry looked at his watch - it was almost six pm. He groaned, he had been sleeping almost the whole day. Not only had he messed up the quidditch practice, but he hadn't written any of his homework too. He stood up and pulled the curtains of his bed open, then he started to change from his quidditch robes. If things continued like that he was going to go down and that without Voldemort doing a thing.

He had to talk with Elena. But what was he supposed to tell her? That he was sorry? He was, he truly was, but he knew a simple 'I'm sorry' wouldn't be enough. He had to explain to her why he had reacted the way he had. That was easier said than done though. And he wasn't completely sure why he had himself. It hadn't been because of her father being a death eater. After all she had told him that he had been dead since before she was born and that her mother hadn't known he was a death eater. Till then he had been quite calm actually. He hadn't liked it, but he had understood that it wasn't Elena's fault. As for her family he didn't like that either and the thought of having such a family freaked him out a bit too, however if the things she had told him about her family before were also true maybe they weren't too bad. They seemed to treat their house elves quite good and that meant something, didn't it? He wasn't sure how they had treated muggles and muggleborns in the past if they had stuck to blood purity so much, but that was something Elena could explain to him. And it was definitely a question about the past since one of Elena's best friends was a muggle.

The thing which had really made him go over the top was the fact that she was Slytherin's heir. He just had too much and really bad memories connected with that title. The things that came to his mind when he heard Slytherin's heir were Voldemort, the chamber of secrets, Voldemort, the basilisk, Voldemort, his worst enemy, Voldemort, death, but surely not anything about Elena. A connection between her and 'Slytherin's heir' still seemed too absurd to him. But she was, she had said so herself. Could she be like Voldemort? Harry knew how Tom Riddle had been in school. He had made everybody believe that he was the perfect student - intelligent and 'good'. He was still more than able to make people believe what he wanted them to believe. Was Elena like him? Could it be that she was fooling Harry, that she was just playing with him. She had never really given him a reason to think that she didn't mean what she was saying, but this could also mean that she was just a brilliant actress - like Voldemort had been in his school days. Harry had no idea what he would do if it turned out that she had been indeed lying to him. But no, she wasn't. He knew she wasn't, he didn't know why, but he just did. She wasn't like Voldemort. There were similarities of course, but the differences were much more he realised. The most important of them was that in contrast to Voldemort she did have a heart. He needed only to remember the movies they had watched and the one she had said was her favourite. Harry didn't remember it completely, but it was a love story. Voldemort would think it was absolute nonsense and a stupid muggle one too. Elena on the other hand seemed to like such things like love stories very much - well she was a girl after all, Slytherin or not. She was the girl he loved, the girl he wanted to be with. She had wanted to be with him too and he had messed it up - awfully. The more he thought about what he had said to her the worse it appeared to him. Would she ever forgive him?

* * *

On Sunday the Slytherin's had quidditch practice and Harry sneaked to the pitch hoping to at least catch a glimpse of Elena. He still had much homework to do, but he hadn't seen her since Tuesday and it was killing him. Unfortunately she wasn't there. He watched the other players for a couple of minutes, but he couldn't even bring himself to analyse their training tactics. The only thing that comforted his quidditch conscience was that he hadn't been the only one not practicing obviously. However, that knowledge didn't make him feel better in any other way, on the contrary. He began to wonder what was making her skip classes, meals and quidditch practice and all because of him. Had he hurt her that much? He had been really mean, yes, but… He had never considered what she might feel for him until now. She had liked him that was sure, but how much exactly? She couldn't have fallen in love with him. No. Slytherins didn't just fall in love like that. And she hadn't wanted to be his girlfriend, she had wanted to wait and see how things worked out. Something that seemed quite a good idea now, after what had happened. If they had been together - as a real couple - the things he had said to her would have been even worse. Who would tell the person they loved and who loved them back that they don't want to have anything to do with them anymore? No, she didn't love him. She liked him, maybe a lot, but surely not loved him. She just couldn't. And when he thought about it the things she was skipping weren't that important to her anyway. She disliked DADA and wasn't too fond of playing quidditch either. As for the meals she had Pimki she didn't have to go to the Great Hal at all.

After almost convincing himself that Elena was fine, Harry decided to check the Mauderers map to see where she was. She had to be alone since Malfoy was practicing. He chose not to remember the last time he had found her alone and headed back to Gryffindor tower to take the map. The only problem with his plan was that he couldn't find her though. Her name wasn't on the map - he checked it at least ten times. The only explanation he had to this fact was that she was in the room of requirement. However, he decided against going to see if she was indeed in the room. He had to do his homework and a conversation with Elena would take longer he assumed if she let him talk to her at all - not to mention that he hadn't quite decided what he wanted to tell her. He could only hope that she would come to DADA on the following day that way he would at least see her if not talk to her.

* * *

Elena didn't come to DADA class on Monday though and Harry was starting to think that she could skip the class till the end of the year if she really wanted to. That he had to do the homework alone wasn't helping at all. He needed twice as much time doing it without her, mostly due to the fact that first he had to find out what it was about. Rush was still doing her classes using those strange names for everything and Harry hadn't minded much while Elena had explained them to him, but now? Everything seemed so much harder without her.

After the class Harry told Ron and Hermione that he would go to the library to do his DADA homework, but when he reached an empty corridor he took the Mauderers map out. And after not finding Elena anywhere he went straight to the room of requirement. He turned three times thinking that he wanted to see Elena, but nothing happened. Harry stood still for a moment thinking of what else he could ask from the room, deciding that he could try checking if there was someone inside first. He turned three times again wishing for a room where he could be alone - the first thing that had come to his mind. A door appeared and he opened it - there was no one inside. So Elena wasn't there, but where was she? And how could he apologise to her when he couldn't even find her? Harry kicked the wall in frustration, totally ignoring the pain that shot through his foot. She was hiding from him and she was doing it very well. How on earth was he supposed to find her? Classes! She was skipping DADA, but she couldn't do that with all her other classes. And she surely wasn't going to do it with Potions. They had Potions tomorrow morning - she would have to come out from wherever she was to go to Potions. He would talk with her before it, while everybody else was at breakfast. She would be with Malfoy no doubt, but he _had_ to talk with her.

* * *

So on the next morning Harry lied to Ron and Hermione that he had forgotten his Potions' text book and he went out of the Great Hall, but instead of going to Gryffindor tower he headed for the dungeons. He remembered where he had accidentally met Elena and Malfoy on his way to Potions and decided to wait there. Almost ten minutes passed without anything happening while Harry was leaning on the wall. Then he heard footsteps, coming near - they weren't talking. Harry let them pass his corridor before he took a deep breath and followed them.

"Elena, wait!", he saw her shoulders stiffen a bit, but she didn't turn around - Malfoy did.

"What do you want, Potter?", he asked glaring at Harry.

"I need to talk with Elena."

"Do you? All of a sudden? I thought you didn't want to come near her ever again. Or is it to continue with your accusations?", Malfoy took a couple of steps towards him, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"That's none of your business", Harry took a step forward too.

"Of course it is. You're insulting my best friend."

"Since when does a Slytherin really care for his friends and you in particular?", Harry wasn't sure why he was provoking Malfoy. He knew the other boy was very near to hitting him, but he didn't care. Actually the idea of having a fight with Malfoy seemed quite appealing at the moment. And true to his assumption after his last comment Malfoy packed Harry by the front of his robes and pushed him against the wall.

"Did you forget you have a wand, Malfoy?"

Draco was ready to hit him and Harry prepared himself. A fight was a great way to take out all his frustration that he had build up during the previous week. He didn't even consider the fact that Malfoy was taller than him and had probably more muscles since he really didn't have the statue of a seeker anymore.

"Stop it!", Malfoy lessened his grip on Harry's robes a bit turning his head to look at Elena. Harry couldn't stop himself from smirking at how Malfoy did everything she said.

"Both of you", her voice was deadly quite and her face expressionless. She looked directly at Harry when she said it washing away his smirk. It was one thing dealing with Malfoy - he had been doing that for years - but Elena was a completely different story.

"But, Ellie…", Malfoy started.

"Let him go, Draco", she told him not taking her eyes off of Harry though.

Malfoy did as he was told and Harry remained leaning against the wall.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Potter", Harry tore his eyes from Elena to look at Malfoy opening his mouth in protest.

"Say what you want to say or leave", he looked back at her.

"I… Can't we talk in private?", Harry said glancing at Malfoy.

"No", she answered crossing her arms in front of her and this time Malfoy smirked.

Harry took a step away from the wall taking a deep breath again and trying to remember what exactly he had wanted to say. However, now that he was looking at her expressionless eyes nothing seemed to really come back.

"I, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the things I said, really. It was just with all the things you told me, I wasn't thinking straight."

"You didn't mean it? And what about the things you just said to Draco?", she asked still with that quite voice which was freaking him out a bit - he preferred her screaming.

"I was… I wanted… I wanted to provoke him, OK? A fight with him would have been at least something familiar in this whole situation."

"_Lovely_", she said sarcastically and Harry ruffled his hair in frustration - this wasn't going anywhere.

"Look, Ellie. Since the first day I found out I was a wizard I was told that only bad witches and wizards went to Slytherin. That the person who killed my parents had been in Slytherin like his followers. When the sorting hat suggested to put me into Slytherin, I was terrified that I might turn just as bad and I pleaded it not to put me there. And…"

"The sorting hat wanted to put _you_ in Slytherin?", Elena asked her voice a bit softer and he could see slight amazement in her eyes - maybe there was still hope.

"Yes, it said I could become great in Slytherin or something of the sort. But anyway I've never known anything good from Slytherin. Not just Voldemort and the death eaters, but here at Hogwarts also. Snape never misses an opportunity to ridicule me like all the other Slytherins led by your _best friend_", he glanced at Malfoy who wasn't looking their way. "You can't await from me to forget everything I've been through because of Slytherins just like that. I'm really trying, but it doesn't always work."

"I don't want you to forget it, Harry. Just to… to understand that I'm not like that. I could be if I wanted to, but I don't. And Slytherin isn't the source of all evil in the world - there are enough death eaters who haven't been in Slytherin."

"I know. I'm sorry, Ellie", he took a step towards her not taking his eyes off of hers. "Do you forgive me? _Please_."

Elena nodded slowly, "This time."

Harry let out breath in relief. He smiled slightly and she returned it. Encouraged by it Harry stepped closer to her so that the only thing he had to do was lean in a bit to be able to kiss her.

"We'll be late for Potions", he heard Malfoy's annoyed voice somewhere from the side - Harry had totally forgotten that he was still there. Elena looked at Malfoy and then back at Harry grinning. Malfoy was still glaring at him though even if not that hard.

"At seven in the room of requirement?", Harry nodded. "You better go first, Harry. You'll have more problems with Snape if you're late", she said pushing him lightly in the direction of Snape's class room still grinning.

* * *

Harry felt great. Life was great. Hogwarts was great. Snape was great. Everything was just great. The only thing that wasn't so great was the time. Why did it have to pass so slowly? And that exactly when he needed it pass as quickly as possible. He couldn't wait till seven when he would be with Elena again, after not being able to even see her for days. He knew it had been his fault of course and he wanted to do everything that came to his mind to make it up to her - at least everything that was realistic. Harry thought for some time what he could do for their meeting in the room of requirement and he came up with an idea. He could decorate the room for her, like she had done it for him up until now. He wasn't quite sure if he could really do something like that, but it couldn't be that hard with a room which makes everything you want, right?

So shortly before six Harry went to the room of requirement. He didn't feel guilty for not trying to study a bit instead, because he knew that he wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough anyway. He asked for an empty room and he got it. He stepped inside closing the door behind him. He stood there for some time thinking of things Elena might like. He had a couple on his mind, but combining them and turning them into room decoration turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. Thankfully he had almost an hour till she came. After trying a couple of different things and thanking Merlin more than a dozen times that he was indeed in the room of requirement, Harry decided to make more simple things in her favourite colours. Although he still wasn't sure if it was good enough when he finished, so he called Pimki and she appeared.

"Hello, Harry Potter", she said and then looked around her surprised.

"Ahm, hi! I was just wondering if… Do you think Elena will like what I've made of the room?", he asked her a bit nervous.

Pimki looked around a bit longer before she answered.

"Oh, yes! Mistress will love it", she assured him and Harry let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. "But, please forgive Pimki the question, did Harry Potter do this all alone?"

"Yeah. I wanted to do something for Elena to show her I'm really sorry for what I said."

Pimki nodded, "Pimki might have a couple of ideas how to make it even better. If Harry Potter doesn't mind of course."

"Not at all. What are they?"

"Music and a couple of fruits maybe?", she suggested her eyes lighting up and Harry grinned.

"That sounds good. Could you get them?"

"Of course. Romantic music?"

Harry nodded eagerly, "You're an amazing elf, Pimki, but you know that, don't you?"

Pimki smiled brightly at him.

"Pimki just knows her mistress since mistress was born", she said before disappearing.

Pimki returned with a CD player and one of Elena's favourite CDs according to her and then after disappearing again with two small bowls with strawberries and cherries. Harry put the fruits on the table and started the CD player. He sat on the couch to wait for Elena, but he stood up again not a minute later too nervous to sit still.

Elena came ten minutes before seven. Her mouth falling slightly open when she entered the room. Harry had made the carpet dark blue and the walls in a lighter green with blue abstract figures on them, which was mostly inspired by her favourite lollipop. The couch was light blue with light green pillows and looked, as Harry hoped, like one from the begin of the 20th century, with a black wooden table in front of it. The candles that were floating in the air were also green and blue and the light they were throwing made the room look even more like something under water, but Pimki had said that Elena would like it, hadn't she?

"Harry…", seemed to be all Elena could say at the moment.

He looked nervously at her.

"Do you like it? I thought that since you have always done the decorations I may try it once. I know I'm not very good, but…"

"It's amazing, Harry", she whispered stepping away from the door to admire the room more closely. "It's as if we were under the sea. I love the sea and my favourite fairytale has always been "The little mermaid", though it's awfully sad at the end."

Harry smiled at her.

"I'm so glad that you like it and that you forgave me for acting like a git."

"Mmm… Do you really can live with it? I mean that I'm Slytherin's heir and my family and my father?", she asked turning to look at him the dreamy expression gone from her face.

"Yes. I thought about it very much and it's not like any of it is your fault. Besides it doesn't really change you, does it? You're the same girl I had so much fun with - just with that additional part. And I l-like you too much to really care about it."

Elena blushed a bit looking away.

"I'm so sorry I reacted like that when you told me, but after the part with Salazar Slytherin my brain turned off. Is there something I could do to make it up to you?"

"I suppose this room is enough", she answered looking around again. "I can't be too angry with you for long anyway."

"You can't?", he asked a bit confused.

"It needs too much energy and continuity, something in which I'm not very good at - normally", she said sitting on the couch and taking the bowl with the strawberries. "This couch is actually quite comfortable", she added changing the subject.

"Shouldn't it be?"

"Of course it should. It's just that it's not so easy to make a couch or something like that which looks so good, but is also comfortable at the same time", she said while eating from the strawberries.

"So I'm good at decorating rooms after all?"

"So it would seem", she smiled at him before putting another strawberry in her mouth.

They fell silent for a while. Elena continued to eat the strawberries and Harry just stared at her mouth. It had been too long and he wanted to kiss her so bad.

"Is something wrong, Harry?", she asked after some time.

"No… Why?"

"You've been staring at me the whole time."

"I- I'm sorry. I just missed you so much."

"Oh. Won't you sit down?", she said moving a bit to one side of the couch.

Harry sat on the other side feeling awkward. This wasn't how he had imagined it to be. But on the other hand he couldn't really await that they continued from where they had stopped after what had happened.

"I missed you too", she whispered so quietly that he almost didn't get it.

She was staring at the bowl in her hands and he couldn't make out her expression.

"I've eaten all the strawberries, there's just one left", she said somehow absently after a while. "Do you want it?"

"No, you can have it. They were for you anyway."

"But they taste really good. You have to try one at least", she insisted bringing it to his lips. Harry opened his mouth and she let the strawberry fall into it. She started to pull her hand away after he closed his mouth, but he caught it with his instinctively. He entangled their fingers together and turned to look at Elena after swallowing the strawberry, which he had to admit was really delicious.

"Ellie, can I kiss you?", he just couldn't take it anymore, but he also needed to be sure she wanted it too.

To his relief she nodded slightly. He pulled her to him, kissing her lips lightly. It was a bit awkward too, probably more than their first kiss, but after she parted her lips for him and he tasted the strawberries all rational thought left Harry's mind. He kissed her hungrily having no idea how he could have wanted to be away from her. Having her in his arms felt so good, even better than he remembered. There was nothing else than their bodies pressed together and her lips on his. Harry barely registered himself taking Elena's school robes off or pushing her to lay down on the couch or starting to kiss her neck, unbuttoning her blouse in the process. The thing that brought him back to his senses a bit was the taste of metal - from the chain around Elena's neck. He fingered it with one of his hands while looking at it. A metal 'E', a picture of an Aquarius and a cross hung on it. Curiosity took hold of him and he looked questioning at Elena. She looked back biting on her lip.

"It's a present from my godmother. I wear it when I don't want to wear anything more exclusive."

"Is she a muggle?", Harry asked still playing with the chain in his fingers.

"No. She was muggleborn though."

"Was?"

"She's dead. For years actually. I don't really remember her. I know her just from photos and my mum's stories. They were best friends. I like wearing the chain. It's silly, but it makes me feel better sometimes", she smiled sadly.

"It's not silly, Ellie. Was she…", he wanted to ask if she had been killed by death eaters, but the words got lost somewhere on the way. Elena was staring directly into his eyes and he could see the pain in hers. But what really made his heart skip a beat was that there was something else too - something he assumed was fear. Was she afraid of him? He looked further down her face and body seeing her swollen lips, a couple of red marks on the soft skin of her neck and her half unbuttoned blouse revealing a bit of her bra - all his work. His mind had been totally clouded from the need to fell her. He didn't even want to think what he would have done if he hadn't stopped. He didn't deserve her forgiveness. It would be much better if they weren't together - for her at least. When had he ever brought anything good to the people he loved?

"I'm sorry", he whispered kissing her temple and then he started to get up.

"_Harry_", she breathed almost desperately pulling him back down to her. "Please, don't stop", she pleaded pressing their lips together.

Harry was completely shocked at first. Elena had never pleaded him for anything and if he had to be honest he had never imagined her as a person who would say 'please' much. He put those thoughts aside though, he would have enough time to ponder on them later. Right now he had to take care of Elena. He wanted to make her feel better, to make her forget - at least for the moment - how stupidly he had acted - again. So he kissed her back gently, caressing her sides slowly almost soothingly. He felt her relax after a while. Only then did he dare to deepen the kiss just as gently.


	25. Confessions

**25. Confessions**

They didn't see each other much during the following days - only for a couple of kisses in empty corridors. Harry wanted to spend more time with her, but compared to the previous week it was hundred times better of course. And as much as he enjoyed being with her again, he couldn't help feeling that something was different. Elena was different - he couldn't say in which way, but she was. He knew that it couldn't be like before - like they hadn't had a fight -, but he couldn't help wishing that it was. He missed their carefree meetings, her smile when she looked at him. That had been the first thing that he had noticed was different about her. She did smile, but it wasn't like before - there was always something else in her eyes. He didn't know what it was, surely not happiness though.

Harry repeated their 'conversation' in the room of requirement again and again in his head - a very unpleasant thing, but he hoped to come to something, which could help him understand Elena better. The only thing he realised after some time though was that she hadn't told him how she knew about the prophecy. He had totally forgotten the whole thing had started with him asking her how she knew about it. But this knowledge only made him worry more. He started wondering if there was more she had wanted to tell him and how bad it could be.

No matter how much he feared the things she hadn't told him, however, he still didn't doubt for a moment that it could stop him from loving her. He knew he couldn't stop and he didn't want to. He wanted to be with Elena - whatever that may mean. Because of that Harry started to watch her carefully every time they were together. After a while he began to realise what was really different. Elena was letting him make all the decisions - when and where they would meet and what they would do. And that was in quite in contrast to their relationship before the fight. Even though he hadn't really noticed it then, it had been she who had told him what to do. She had told him to meet her and he had without thinking of saying 'no'. She had listened to him of course and considered his opinions, but in the end they had done what she wanted and now… Harry couldn't shook the feeling that she was somehow afraid of him. He hadn't seen it clearly since that look in her eyes in the room on requirement, but it was still there. She was cautious around him and he desperately wanted the old Elena back, because he was sure that it had been her true self. He knew she was acting out of character in the moment. He didn't really have an idea why, but it was surely because of him.

* * *

After much consideration Harry decided to ask Elena about the prophecy again. He hoped that at least to some extend her different behaviour was due to the fact that she hadn't been able to tell him everything she had wanted - that she was still nervous how he would react to it. And after she told him he could assure her that he didn't care and maybe they could be together like before. If it didn't have anything to do with the changes in her at least he would get it over and done with once and for all.

So on Sunday as they were in the room of requirement he decided to ask her - after all there couldn't be anything worse than what she had already told him. They were sitting on the ground across from each other, writing their homework.

"Ellie", he said softly, "you didn't really tell me how you know about the prophecy or did I miss something?"

"Oh", she looked thoughtful. "We started arguing before I got to that part."

"Would you tell me now?"

She looked him directly in the eyes.

"If you promise not to get angry again."

Maybe there was something worse. "I'll try."

Elena looked at the pen in her hand, turning it over while she spoke.

"I told you that my mum went to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, she had been in Slytherin."

"Mhmm… She was in the same year as your parents…"

Harry looked at her surprised. Whatever he had been expecting it wasn't this.

"And she was friends with your mother. She was also part of the Order of the Phoenix and you mother told her about the prophecy and she told me. That's it", she said.

He just stared at her with his mouth slightly opened, but Elena continued to look at the pen in her left hand, her right playing with the collar of her shirt. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes and then Harry's eyes widened.

"_Ellie_, my mum…", his voice cracked. "she…?", he wasn't able to say anything else so he closed his mouth waiting for her to say something.

Elena didn't for a while though and when she did her voice was so quite that he almost didn't understand the two words: "She was", and after a moment of silence she started talking very fast.

"They met on the train and became friends even though they were in different houses. And they remained best friends after Hogwarts. Mum joined the Order of the Phoenix because of your mother even though grandma didn't want her to, but she couldn't really do anything, because she had already disowned my aunt and there was no one else. When I was born my mum asked yours to be my godmother. And if you had been a girl my mum would have been your godmother - that was what your parents had decided after arguing quite a lot about it. But you're a boy obviously so Sirius Black became your godfather. That turned into a problem though after your parents died and he was sent to Azkaban. Mum wanted to take you, but she didn't really have any rights to do it and Dumbledore wanted you to live with your aunt. She had a very big fight with him about it and afterwards she swore that she was never going to set foot in Great Britain again. She haven't been in the country since a couple of days after your parents died - not even when I started Hogwarts, my aunt gets me on the train every year", as suddenly as she had started talking she fell silent again.

Harry tried to make any sense of what she had just told him, which wasn't that easy since he wasn't sure he got everything with the tempo she had been talking.

"I've never been told about it", he said after a couple of minutes.

Elena shrugged, "Probably because most you know about your parents is from your father's friends. They've never been very close to my mum and yours for years as far as I know. And mum's never been on good terms with Dumbledore even before that fight."

He thought about it and he really knew much less about his mother than about his father. That was of course mostly due to Sirius and Lupin. And…

"And most people always compare me to my father because I look so much like him except of…"

"Your eyes, I know. I have a couple of pictures of your mother with me as a baby. It was quite strange looking into your eyes in the beginning - after I've known them from the photos… Are you angry?", she asked with fear in her voice. There it was again. Was she really afraid of him? And why hadn't she looked at him once since she had asked him not to get angry? Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"No, but I'm still trying to understand all you told me. I suppose you don't have those photos here at Hogwarts?"

"I do. I mean I asked Pimki to get them when I decided to tell you. The photo album's in my room."

"Could I see it, maybe?", he asked not quite sure if it didn't go too far - they were her baby photo's after all.

"If you really want to…"

"Very much."

She nodded, "Pimki!"

The house elf appeared immediately.

"Could you bring me the photo album?"

"Yes, mistress."

Pimki disappeared only to appear not a minute later with a blue photo album in her hands. She handed it to Elena and was gone again. Elena opened it skipping a couple of pages. When she found what she had been looking for she turned the album upside down and gave it Harry across the table, still not looking at his face. He looked down at the photo and his heart skipped a beat. His mother was sitting in an armchair with a small bundle in her arms. The baby seemed to be just a couple of weeks old, but it already had Elena's black hair and the small hands were gripping the fingers of Lily's hand firmly. His mother was smiling brightly at the baby. Harry's hand moved across the photo. Lily must have been already pregnant with him, but he couldn't see it. After looking at it for a while he decided to go through the other pictures. On the same page was a similar photo with a brown haired woman instead of his mother - probably Elena's mother. He turned the next pages with photos of Elena only. The next picture of his mother was a muggle one. It showed Lily holding Elena who was sitting naked in a metal tub with water. A man with long hair and beard - a priest Harry assumed - was standing behind them reading from a book. Elena's mother was standing next to them, both women seemed amused at the discomfort of the baby which looked as if was going to start crying any moment. They were also wearing muggle clothes and this time it was obvious that his mother was pregnant. After some time he continued with the other photos - photos of Elena, some with her or his mother and a couple of other people. He stopped at one in which he was sitting on his mother's lap. Elena was standing before them in a light green dress, her hair long enough for a ponytail. She was smiling brightly and holding a stuffed dragon behind her back. His mother was also smiling, whispering something in his ear, which made him grin, his eyes fixed on Elena. Harry looked at the little girl in the picture - she seemed to be a bit over a year old. Then he looked at the same girl just seventeen years older. Elena was reading her essay or at least pretending that she was.

"Do you know when this one was taken?", he asked her.

She glanced at his face for a second and then back at the table, leaning over it to look at the photo.

"Some when around your first birthday", she said while sitting back to continue staring at her essay.

Harry closed the album in frustration.

"Ellie, look at me."

She did slowly and when their eyes met he could see the fear in her black ones clearly. He frowned. When had the smart and happy girl he had fallen in love with turned into this insecure bundle of fears? What had he done?

"I'm not angry", he told her.

"But you don't look too happy either."

"I just need time to fully understand what this means."

"Do you hate me?", he could see that she hadn't meant to say it aloud and she looked away immediately.

"Of course not!", he was beginning to get worried about her. "How can you think something like that?"

"After all you said after I told you about my family…"

"I didn't mean it. I was angry, OK?"

"You must have - at least some of it or you wouldn't have said it."

"Ellie…"

"What if you're just thinking that it's not that bad, but then realise at some point that you couldn't be with me?"

"I…"

"After all when has it ever happened that a Slytherin and a Gryffindor got together?"

"Elena, would you listen to me!"

She closed her mouth, but she looked lost. Harry stood up and went to her, putting his arms around her shoulders.

"What's wrong, Ellie? I told you that I don't care. I wouldn't have if I didn't mean it."

"I know - in my head, but it doesn't help at all", she whispered leaning into his chest and he hugged her tighter. "I expected that you wouldn't take it well when I told you about my family. I thought I was prepared for your reaction, but I wasn't. It hurt hearing you say all those things, it was as if my heart was breaking. The moment you closed the door a started crying - I don't remember ever crying like that", her voice was trembling and he hugged her even tighter, feeling awfully guilty. "It's so stupid! I've been acting like one of those girls who think the world would end if they break up with their boyfriend. We aren't even together like that and I never thought someone could have such power over me… It's true I sometimes cry about sad stories, but I could always hold my feelings under control when it was necessary - that's what I've been told. But when it comes to you it's like my brain's turned off most of the time and I start doing silly things. I don't like it at all, but I can't do anything about it either. I… I just couldn't stand it if you hated me."

"But I don't hate you. I couldn't… never, I…", Harry took a deep breath before he continued. "I love you."

She pulled away from him, staring at him with unbelieving eyes.

"You love me?"

"I love you."

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

"You don't just say it to make me feel better?"

"No, I do love you. I've been in love with you for months - probably since the first day we spent in the room of requirement. I just didn't realise it for a while and when I did I had no idea what to do. I, I know I did a couple of really stupid things and I'm sorry I hurt you. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt. But at least now I'm absolutely sure that nothing could stop me from loving you. You could be Voldemort's daughter and I would still love you, Ellie."

Elena was still staring at him with wide eyes almost without blinking and Harry started to worry about her reaction after the shock wore off. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out so she closed it again. She did it two more times and by that time he was like frozen. So Elena caught him absolutely by surprise as she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Harry fell backwards, pulling her down with him. She continued to kiss him with more passion than ever and he returned it. After some time - he had absolutely no idea how much though - Elena broke the kiss by pulling her head away from his. They were both breathing very hard and Harry's head was still spinning - he had some difficulties to focus his gaze on her face.

"I love you too", she said with a bright smile. "And you're driving me insane."

He grinned back, "Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's going crazy."

He caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes enjoying his touch. Harry couldn't quite believe she had just said she loved him. He had tortured himself with his feelings for her for so long and now he knew she returned them. And at least they could be…

"Ellie?", he whispered and she opened her eyes slowly, still smiling.

"So, ahm… Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Her smile grew even bigger if that was possible.

"Yes."

She kissed him lightly, but when she looked back into his eyes some of the happiness was gone.

"We still have to keep it a secret though."

Harry nodded, "For now at least."

"Mhm", she bit her lip, thinking for a moment and then the smile was back.

"But now we are officially and secretly a couple, aren't we?"

"We are", he whispered.

Finally she was his and Harry was so happy that he thought he might explode. He couldn't resist the proximity of her lips anymore so he pulled her head back down for another kiss. And this time they didn't stop for a very long time.

* * *

**A****/N:** I haven't been updating very often, but I've got a lot to do for university lately and it won't get better till the end of the year. I'll try to update at least once a week though.

As for this chapter I'm not sure if that wasn't a bit too much (not the length of it of course), but it had to be done and the next chapter will be mostly about the last quidditch match.


	26. Gryffindor vs Slytherin I

**A/N:** I wanted this chapter to end with the quidditch game, but when I started writing it became longer and longer and I still haven't managed to finish it so I decided to split it in two parts. (I'll probably update the second part within the next two days)

* * *

**26. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin**** I**

About a week later Harry was lying in his bed thinking. Life had been good to him recently. The Easter holidays had began and - what was more important of course - Elena had said she loved him and they were finally really together. He smiled in the darkness - yes… everything was great. Well if you didn't count a couple of other things naturally, but he was ignoring them quite successfully so far. It didn't bother him much that even if they had holidays he had a lot of school work to do, but at least he didn't have classes the whole day. And of course Voldemort was still somewhere and alive, however, right now he couldn't care less if Voldemort was secretly hiding in Hogsmead, waiting for their next Hogsmead weekend to kill him. The only thing Harry couldn't forget so easily though was the last quidditch game. It wasn't because Ron made them practice almost every day - he could live quite happily with that too. It was much more the fact that recently Ron had somehow convinced himself and in the process most of the other Gryffindors that Malfoy's plan to beat them was to get Harry out of the way. Everybody thought that Elena wasn't good enough to beat him due to her average performances in the previous games. Harry was pretty sure that she was capable of much more, but he didn't really think that was a good topic to discuss with Ron or any of his other team mates - he would rather die than explain to any of them how he had gotten to that conclusion. Because as much as he loved her and wanted to be with her, he knew perfectly well that it was crazy: Gryffindor's seeker dating Slytherin's seeker - he wondered if something like that had ever happened before. Furthermore it surely hadn't with such an important match looming over them.

Technically the next quidditch game was between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but it was almost certain that Ravenclaw was going to win and they played for the third place anyway. The game between Gryffindor and Slytherin was a completely different matter though. Gryffindor was first right now, however, only by very few points. It all came to that last game - whoever won it would win the cup too. And it was hard to say which team was better without counting the seekers. The Slytherins hadn't played very well in their last game, but in their first they had been really good and Harry knew they were practicing just as hard - Elena had complained about it. He smirked remembering her annoyance when they had met after her last practice, but that only reminded him of why he started worrying every time he thought about the last game. If nothing went totally wrong with one of the teams they were more or less even, which let all the responsibility fall on his shoulders. Harry had to catch the snitch, because Gryffindor wouldn't be able to score enough to still win if Elena caught it. He had to do it before she did, he had to beat her. He had to beat his girlfriend. And he was more than sure that something like that was against all rules of a proper relationship. What was he supposed to do? Let her win? No, he couldn't and he didn't think she wanted it either. She wanted to beat him fairly and he wondered if she was really _that_ good. Everybody thought it was impossible, which was the source of Harry's most current problem.

Since Ron had come up with the idea that Malfoy wanted to do something to Harry, he and - to Harry's displease - a lot of other people had decided that it wasn't good for him to go anywhere alone. This hadn't bothered him in the beginning, but it was becoming terribly annoying and that very fast. The first time he had wished that they would leave him alone had been when Neville and Dean had come to sit with him _while_ he was writing his DADA homework with Elena in the library. Not that they had prevented him from doing the essay - he and Elena hadn't really done much before they had come. They had been flirting across the table, not daring to do more in the library, but after Dean and Neville's arrival it had been as if the table had turned into a massive wall which separated him and Elena. They both struggled to act indifferently towards each other and Harry knew that she hadn't been happy at all about the intrusion, although she didn't comment on it. Harry wondered how long she would take it silently, hell, he wondered how long he could take it before he exploded. The only alone time they had was while he was 'studying' Potions in the room of requirement. He had managed to persuade Ron that it was safe and the whole point of him going there was that he was really alone. Other than that he didn't even dare smile at her when he saw her around the castle, because someone was bound to notice - lately there was always someone who was watching him. Sneaking out at night had become a bit difficult too since he and his friends had started to study till very late in the common room. So Harry was slowly becoming somehow desperate to spend more time with Elena alone. He had started to look at the Mauderers map for her in order to suppress the urge to just go and find her. This wasn't always possible though since he still couldn't find her sometimes. The most recent case of this had been the previous night when he hadn't been able to fall asleep. He had looked at the map for a while, but Elena's dot was no where to be seen. Where could she be in the middle of the night? He definitely had to ask her about it.

* * *

On the next day at lunch Harry glanced from time to time at the Slytherin table. He just couldn't stop himself from wanting to look at Elena. They were going to meet in the room of requirement in about half an hour and he couldn't wait. The last time he had glanced at her she had been already eating dessert and when he looked again Elena was just standing up. His eyes stayed on her longer this time and he observed with satisfaction that Malfoy wasn't going to follow her - he had continued talking with Zabini. An idea came to Harry's mind and he decided to do it without a second thought. He grabbed his school bag and told Ron that he was going to study Potions. Thankfully this time they had been sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table next to the door so that before any of the others could do anything to stop him Harry was already gone. He hurried after her towards the dungeons, not really caring if somebody saw him - most people were still in the Great Hall anyway.

When he caught up with her he slowed down. After he was near enough to her, he pulled her by the hand in the smaller hallway she had just passed. Elena didn't shriek, but the moment he turned her around to face him he could feel her wand pressed against his stomach.

"_Harry!_", she hissed. "Do you want to get hexed or something?", she asked putting her wand away.

He smiled sheepishly at her, "You have amazing reflexes."

"Yes and you're lucky I look first before I curse someone", then she grinned at him. "I see you've managed to escape your overly protective house mates this time."

He grinned back, pulling her to him.

"Well, I saw you leave the Great Hall alone and I just had to give it a try."

"And you couldn't wait half an hour?"

Harry shook his head and she put her arms around his neck.

"You do know they would all go crazy if they knew you've entered Slytherin territory on your own. It's not very thoughtful of you after all they've been doing to protect you from the bad Slytherins."

Elena ran one of her hands through his hair bringing his head down to hers.

"I hoped you would protect me", he whispered their lips not three inches apart. She smirked slightly.

"Did you…?", was all she could say since Harry kissed her.

Elena needed some time to gain enough will power and then she broke the kiss.

"Someone'll see us", she said trying to get free from his embrace.

He nodded, but didn't let her go.

"Go to the room of requirement and I'll be right there - I just need to get my things."

This time he shook his head.

"I'll come with you."

"Harry, love, as much fun as this is you're not going anywhere near Slytherin's common room", she told him crossing her arms in front of her.

"I have the invisibility cloak with me - no one will notice. Come, Ellie, I just want to be near you."

She sighed and Harry took it as a yes. He finally let go of her to take out the cloak. Elena waited for him to put it on and then she started walking towards her common room again.

"Ellie?", he said after a while remembering what he had wanted to ask her. "Where were you?"

She stopped turning around confused, "What do you mean?"

"I… ahm…", it dawn to him that confessing that he had been looking for her on the map might be somehow embarrassing, but he had already asked there was no way out. "Yesterday I looked for you on the Mauderers map and I couldn't find you. Like when… when we weren't talking. Only the room of requirement isn't on the map as far as I know and I searched for you there - when I wanted to apologize - and you weren't in there so I've been wondering where you've been disappearing."

Elena looked at the direction his voice was coming from for some time. Harry couldn't tell what was going through her mind from her expression, but then she smiled at him.

"I'll show you. Come!", she told him turning around and starting to walk faster than before. Harry didn't know what else to do so he followed her.

They walked towards the Slytherin common room for a while, but then Elena changed the direction - at least Harry thought so. The only place he didn't know very well in Hogwarts and it's surroundings were the dungeons. He tried to memorise the way while they walked and he had become so absorbed in it that he almost ran into Elena when she stopped abruptly. He looked around, but all he could see was a long, dimly lit corridor. He glanced at her confused before he remembered that she couldn't really see him.

"You can take the cloak off now", she said looking at the wall on their left.

Harry took the invisibility cloak off and put it back in his bag. Then he looked at the wall too though he couldn't see anything special about it.

"So", Elena turned to look at him, "this is the entrance to my secret room. I've been spending a lot of time in there lately - it's very private. The only people in Hogwarts who now about it are Draco and I and you from now on. Outside from Hogwarts there's probably only my family members who know about it. Because, you see, the room was made by Slytherin himself for his future heirs. And it _doesn't_ have anything to do with the chamber of secrets the entrance to which I didn't know before you told me about it. Slytherin made this room before his daughter came to Hogwarts, she used it as her personal dorm. After she finished school she married the heir of my family whose father had been good friends with Slytherin, but that's a longer story. So anyway the knowledge of this room had been passed on to every child of my family which attended Hogwarts and they were allowed to show it only to their best friends if it was necessary. I've been thinking that we could spend more time in it instead of the room of requirement in the future. You won't have problems coming here with your map and the invisibility cloak and it will be much more comfortable - for me at least", she smirked.

Harry chose to ignore the very last part.

"Fine, but how do you get inside?"

"That's quite easy if you know how to. You see that torch?", she pointed to the nearest torch and he nodded. "You count eight stones from it to the left and then five down", her hand moved while she spoke and when it came to rest she touched the stone with her finger. "Then you touch this stone only with the index finger of your left hand and say the password. It's 'Serene' - the name of Slytherin's daughter - and you have to say it in parsel of course. But you won't have any problems with that, because it took Draco almost half of first year to learn to say it right. OK?"

Harry nodded and Elena turned back to the wall. She said the password and the outlines of a door appeared around her hand. When it became completely visible she pushed it open walking in. He followed her taking his wand out, because there was no light coming from the inside. Elena caught his hand though before he could say 'Lumos'.

"Don't", she told him dragging him inside and closing the door behind them.

For a moment they stood in complete darkness and then torches lit up along one of the walls of what turned out to be another long corridor. Harry looked at her questioning.

"If you use your wand to make light before the door is closed the torches won't lit up. And there's some sort of spell shortly before the actual room which makes it impossible to find the door if they aren't working", she explained heading to the other side of the corridor, pulling Harry with her still holding his hand. He took his wand with the other hand to get a better hold of her hand.

After a couple of minutes of walking in silence they reached a wooden door. Elena opened it and stepped inside. Harry followed her and got blinded by the bright light for a second. He blinked a couple of times and the room cleared before his eyes. It was as bright as the Great Hall at this time of the day in contrast to every other part of the dungeons, but he couldn't see any windows. The room was about three times bigger than his dormitory and it didn't look much like the Slytherin common room from what he remembered. The sealing was higher and the floor was totally covered with a thick black carpet. Maybe the only similar thing was the big fire place on one side. On the other though stood the TV and the stereo they had been using in the room of requirement along with other muggle equipment, a table and a couch. There were also a couple of book cases and a dresser too and - directly on the opposite side from where they were standing - was Elena's bed. It resembled Harry's in Gryffindor tower only that it was much bigger and in green of course. He didn't let his eyes stay on it long though - instead he looked at Elena.

"So what do you think?", she asked him.

"It's quite nice. But what would Salazar Slytherin say if he knew his room was full with muggle things?"

Elena rolled her eyes. She didn't get the opportunity to respond though, because a snowy white cat went around her legs.

"Hey", she smiled at it taking it from the ground to cuddle it. "That's my cat Cleo", she said bringing it to Harry, but the cat hissed at him, the blue eyes narrowing and Elena had to hold it tight. "Sorry, she's always like that with strangers, but other than that she's really peaceful."

Elena held the cat nearer to herself whispering something into her year. Cleo seemed to calm down, but when she tuned her head back to Harry he could swear that she looked disapprovingly at him. He shook his head slightly in disbelieve.

"How did you come to the name?", he asked trying not to look at the cat while Elena put her back on the ground. Fortunately she didn't attack him and went away.

"Actually her full name is Cleopatra - like the Egyptian queen. At the time Draco gave her to me for my ninth birthday I was totally into ancient Egypt."

"This would also explain why she doesn't like me. I bet she's in love with Malfoy, isn't she?"

"Well, kind of, but that doesn't have anything to do with her behaviour. She just needs time to get used to you. _And_ she'll have enough of that while we stay here instead of the room of requirement."

Elena came to stand before Harry smiling at him. He smiled back.

"But we'll still have to do Potions."

"Sure. Not now though - there are other things we could do", she said putting her arms around his neck and Harry pulled her closer.

"If you say so, my love", he whispered in her ear.

"Mhmm…", Harry had started kissing her neck, his hands moving up and down her back pressing her to him. After a minute though he let go and went to the couch sitting on it, taking the remote.

"We could watch a movie", he said nonchalantly exploring the remote - it definitely had too many buttons even for him. Elena, who had watched him move away with a glare, went to him. She snatched the remote from his hands and put it on the table.

"Watching a movie isn't exactly what I thought we would do", she retorted still glaring slightly at him and Harry tried to look innocently at her.

"But we haven't done that in a while."

She ignored that and sat on his lap. Harry's arms started to go around her, but she caught his wrists, pushing them back. She leaned to him, her upper body mere inches from his.

"I don't mind a bit of teasing, Harry, but you should be careful what you do. I can tease too", she whispered, their eyes locked. Then she kissed him, nibbling on his lower lip. As he tried to deepen the kiss though, she pulled away smirking.

"Clear?"

Harry nodded. Elena started trailing light kisses down his neck still holding his wrists firmly. He didn't mind though, because the truth was that - as much as he liked teasing her - he didn't have enough self-control to do it most of the time, especially when she was so near.

* * *

The Easter holidays passed in a rush for Harry. He spend most of his time trying be with Elena as much as possible and in the same time trying to prevent anybody from noticing and of course he had to study and practice quidditch too. He had thought that he would be able to be with her more often while they didn't have any classes, but he had been wrong. Even after they had decided to meet in her room instead of the room of requirement the situation didn't change much. He couldn't see her nearly as much as he wanted to and she completely agreed with him on that point. They had just gotten together and normal couples at that stage of their relationship were supposed to be together all the time, Harry thought. It was really irritating. The only thing that held him from shouting at any of the people who had decided to follow him all the time wasn't the knowledge that they were trying to help - he was already pass that. However, he didn't want to risk slipping something about Elena when he got angry.

When classes started again nothing got better, on the contrary - Harry couldn't even go to the toilet alone anymore. The fact that no Slytherin had attacked him so far didn't, however, make any of his 'bodyguards' lessen their intentions to protect him - it only made them stronger. It was driving him crazy and he had no idea how he had managed to hold back for so long. Elena tried to calm him down when they were together although he could see that she was becoming more and more annoyed every day. He caught himself wishing the bloody game was already over on more than one occasion. Furthermore he wasn't the only one who felt the upcoming game - the encounters between Gryffindors and Slytherins were becoming violent too, though there hadn't been any fights so far. It was really depressing sometimes and then Harry almost wished he wouldn't play quidditch.

On Wednesday of the first week after the holidays Harry and Elena were sitting in the library. They hadn't started with their homework yet, because they were using the time while no one had still come to them to talk a bit. Harry was starting to hope that this time they would remain alone since most of the other students were at dinner at the moment - he and Elena had decided to try if it would help meeting at this time. It worked - at least for about ten minutes and then Ernie McMillan came. Elena turned her gaze to the text book in front of her.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Hi, Ernie!"

"Harry, you're doing DADA right now, aren't you? Can I join you?"

"I…", Harry tried, but Ernie didn't seem to really care about his answer. He sat on the empty chair on Harry's right side totally oblivious to Elena's glare.

"Padma Patil - my partner - is in the Hospital Wing at the moment - she had a nervous breakdown. She'll be fine in a couple of days, but till then I have to do DADA alone and Rush's giving us a lot of work. Poor Padma, it won't be easy for her to catch up with her study plan…"

Ernie continued talking almost all the time - the longest time he didn't say anything was less than three minutes. Harry had no idea how he managed to talk so much and still write his essay, because he wasn't able to write two sentences. Elena was trying to do the essay too, but after half an hour she had only done the first paragraph and Harry could see her clench her jaw tightly. He had to do something about Ernie, he had no idea what though. He couldn't just tell him to leave without a reason and he thought that telling him to shut up wouldn't be very nice either. Ernie was annoying sometimes, but he had been in DA after all…

Harry wrinkled his nose - he could smell something strange. He looked around, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The smell though was intensifying fast and he realised that something seemed to be burning. Ernie had noticed that something was wrong too and he was looking around confused. Then all of a sudden he jumped pushing his chair back, looking at the ground on his side of the table. And Harry saw the cause of the smell: Ernie's school bag was burning. Harry stared with wide eyes as Ernie kicked it away from the table and then started treading it, trying to put out the fire. Almost all the students who were in the library at the moment were gathering around and Madam Pince was hurrying towards Ernie with her wand at the ready. As she reached him she performed an 'Aguamenti' splashing water over Ernie and his bag. The fire was gone immediately and Madam Pince started shouting at Ernie that fire was the worst thing that could happen in a library and threatening that he would be banned from the library till the end of the year. Harry glanced at Elena for a moment - she was writing her essay calmly as if nothing had happened. He knew immediately that she had set the fire.

"Did you really have to do this?", Harry whispered to her.

"He was going on my nerves."

"Weren't you supposed to calm _me_ down? What happened to your Slytherin self-control?"

"That? It's pretty much gone with the wind since most of the time all I can think about is what I want to do with you the next time we're alone. And when we can't be alone for a while I become irritated. I'm surely _not_ sorry. I can understand why your house mates won't leave you alone, but he's a bloody, annoying Hufflepuff."

"He's not…", he trailed off when she shot him a deadly glare.

"Does he really think he could stop me if I wanted to do something to you?"

Harry shrugged, "They just think that they have to protect me from the Slytherins."

"I know and that's the only thing that keeps me from hexing any of them sometimes", Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "They are right to some extent. There are a lot of Slytherins who would love to curse you, but fortunately Draco's managing to keep them at bay for now."

"Why would he?", Harry just couldn't stop himself from asking.

"_Because _I don't want to win because you've been hexed or due to the fact that you're my boyfriend. I know I can win with dirty tricks, but I want to beat you by flying better than you, by catching the snitch before you do. That way, my love, I'll be the only Slytherin to ever truly beat you", Elena finished smirking.


	27. Gryffindor vs Slytherin II

**2****7. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin II**

And so the days passed and Harry's last game was coming nearer and nearer. He wasn't really able to be with Elena more often, but their meetings were becoming more and more intense every day. They spend their time getting to know each other better in every possible way. Elena surely wasn't perfect and she had pretty much all it took for a person to be a true Slytherin - except hating muggles. She could be sneaky and arrogant and even cruel sometimes, but at the same time she was the most understanding person he had ever met. It was true she didn't like when someone was doing things she didn't want him to, but if you were able to give her a good reason for it she was willing to forgive and forget. That was the reason he had felt so at ease with her in the beginning - she never blamed him for anything. She told him when she thought something was completely ridiculous, but most of the time she let him do it anyway. She hated being told what to do so normally she let the others do what they wanted to - if she didn't already have something on her mind. She was collected and logical, most of the time at least. There were moments when she acted completely irrational - in Harry's opinion - and he knew perfectly well that trying to argue with her when she was like that was one of the stupidest things ever. She didn't get angry easily, but when she did her reaction was like a thunder from a cloudless sky - you never knew what hit you, but it was terrible. When she wanted something nothing could stop her from getting it. And she was strong willed and really stubborn sometimes, but to his amusement Harry had found out that there were certain things he could do, which let her melt in his arms. He did have some amount of power over her and she let him do things he had a feeling anyone else would have gotten hexed for trying.

Harry had often wondered which Elena was more real - the one who was definitely Malfoy's best friend or the other who was pretty much the sweetest girl he'd ever known. However, with the time he had come to the conclusion that it was both her - it only depended on her mood. And as Harry had recently found out she actually loved doing things other people thought completely in contrast or impossible, which probably had much to do with the pleasure she got from proving people wrong. Harry had to admit that he and Elena were quite different and - if he wasn't experiencing it at the moment - he would have never thought that a relationship between them could ever work, but it did and it was brilliant.

They teased each other for their houses and things like that, but it was just for fun, because neither of them really cared in the end. All Harry needed to forget Slytherin and Gryffindor existed was to pull Elena to him and kiss her. Furthermore, the fact that lately they had been doing a lot more than just kissing was making him forget that even Hogwarts or anything else - except him and Elena - existed. Their making out sessions were becoming hotter and hotter - partly because they felt like they had to make up for the time they couldn't be together and partly just because they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They had even moved from the couch to her bed a couple of times - not going all the way, but were getting nearer every time. And Harry really liked her bed. It was much more comfortable than his and it had something his would probably never have: Elena was normally lying next to him - he didn't even notice the green sheets anymore. Harry really didn't have any reason to complain about his time with Elena - just that he couldn't be with her as often as he wished. He sincerely hoped that this was going to change after the last game.

* * *

When the day before the game finally came, Harry was both relieved and anxious. In a bit more than twenty-four hours it was going to be over, but he was also afraid of what was going to happen during the game and afterwards. He had been a mess for a couple of days now because of it and if he had to describe the time, when he wasn't with Elena, he needed just two words: pure stress. The N.E.W.T.s were just a couple of weeks away, but mostly there was just one topic everybody talked about - quidditch. The competition for the cup hadn't been so serious between Gryffindor and Slytherin for years. Biting comments were being thrown between the members of the two house frequently. And Gryffindor's beaters had let two of Slytherin's chasers annoy them so much that they had started firing hexes at each other. This had ended in all of them having to go to the hospital wing and getting detention - thankfully not during the game. Harry didn't get attacked, but had to endure all kind of nasty calling. He was almost immune to that after seven years, but it was still irritating sometimes. This time though Malfoy was one of the few Slytherin's who didn't make fun of him and he actually had tried to avoid him as much as possible. Elena didn't have to suffer much from such comments, but that was only because no one really thought she could actually beat him. All in all although Harry was afraid of the game itself he wanted it to be over more than anything else at the moment.

On Friday after classes Harry headed to the quidditch field with his team mates for their last practice. They had had problems getting the pitch, because the Slytherins had wanted it too. He remembered the fight between the two teams and their head of houses because of it - it hadn't been nice and he and Elena had tried to stay away from it. In the end they had made a compromise - the Gryffindors would get it first for about an hour and then the Slytherins for the same time. Harry wasn't sure if that was any good at all. They were all nervous about the game on the following day and he didn't think that a half practice would really help, but there was nothing he could do - Ron insisted that they should practice.

When they reached the pitch the Slytherins were already there sitting in the stands in their quidditch robes, waiting for their turn. Harry knew immediately that he had been right thinking that the practice wouldn't make them feel better and actually it was going to make everything worse. He followed the others to their locker room with a heavy heart. He half listened to Ron who was trying to cheer them up - not very successfully - and the moment they came out again the Slytherins began to make boo sounds. Harry looked over at them while he mounted his broom and felt a bit relieved that Elena wasn't there. The Slytherins continued shouting at the Gryffindors during their whole practice, which only contributed to turning the whole thing into a very, very unpleasant experience. They tried to make some moves and a small game, but it was in vain. Harry kept glancing at the stands for Elena, but she still hadn't come when Ron called them to the ground again. Ron was so angry that he could only glare at Malfoy and the other Slytherins when they came down from the stands to take their brooms and begin their practice. Ron stomped towards their locker and the Gryffindors followed him, Harry was the last because he was still looking out for Elena, but she didn't seem to be there and the others were already in the air. When Harry entered the locker he was able to hear Ron's last words

"…show them we can do it just as good", he said through clenched teeth.

Harry was confused at first, but when his team mates headed to the stands after they had changed in their school robes he understood. He had no desire to watch the Slytherins practice and even less to insult them, but he had also no choice.

Harry sat next to Dean crossing his arms. He decided to at least glare at the Slytherins, while the others started shouting insults at them some of which could easily compete with those of the Slytherins earlier. They in contrast to the Gryffindors though didn't seem at all affected by it. The only visible sign that they were hearing them was Malfoy gesturing to his team to fly higher. Harry stared at them as they went higher with disinterest - they weren't even really practicing yet, just flying in some strange circles around each other. He looked over them, at the slowly darkening sky and he saw something which caught his attention. Very high above the pitch someone was making loopings in the air. He narrowed his eyes and after a while he was able to make out the green quidditch robes. He wondered when she had come or if she had been there all the time. But most of all he didn't really understand why Elena was flying so far away from the others. He glanced back at her team mates - they were now flying in a row after Malfoy who made different figures in the air and they resembled a flying snake a bit. Harry came to the conclusion that this had to be the strangest practice he had ever seen - if you could call it quidditch practice at all.

After half an hour the Gryffindors got bored and decided to go back to their common room. Harry went with them, but shortly after they had left the pitch he gestured for Ron to slow down so that they fell behind a bit.

"Ron, I would like to have a walk by the lake. You know, to calm down and think about tomorrow in peace."

Ron shrugged, "If you think it'll help you. Will you need much time, because I promised Hermione to meet her after our practice?"

"I don't know, but you should go to see her. I'm sure it'll help _you_ more than sitting by the lake and I wanted to be alone anyway."

"But, Harry…"

"I'll put the invisibility cloak on. Don't worry - I'll be fine, but I really need some time alone. Please, Ron. You know I can take care of myself."

Ron sighed, "Fine, but can you come back before curfew?"

"I'll try, but the best would be if you try to forget about everything and just spend some time with Hermione, OK?"

Ron nodded slowly and then continued to walk towards the castle. Harry glanced shortly at the Slytherins before he took his invisibility cloak out and threw it over himself. Then he walked back to the pitch, feeling a bit guilty for lying to Ron. Not to mention what would happen if Ron found out what he was really going to do, but in a way he had also said the truth, because Elena had become the only thing that could calm him lately.

This time Harry sat down on the grass on one side of the pitch waiting for the Slytherin to finish their practice. About five minutes later they started playing with the quaffel and one of the bludgers and Harry suspected that Malfoy had hoped the Gryffindors would go away if they didn't practice properly. That was what had happened although Harry still thought that the Slytherins didn't really look as if they were practicing quidditch and Elena hadn't come down either. Whatever they were doing, however, they obviously had more fun than the Gryffindors had had.

After another twenty minutes it had become too dark and the Slytherins came down. Malfoy had to go up to Elena to get her down, because she didn't seem to hear him when he shouted at her. When she landed on the ground not far from where Harry was sitting, he could see she was paler than normally and Malfoy looked at her a bit concerned too. Harry wondered what could have happened to her, because the last time he had seen her at lunch she had seemed alright to him. He had the strong urge to go to her and put his arms around her, but he had to wait till the others left. He watched them go into their locker room. It didn't take them long and a couple of minutes later Elena was the only one still inside. He went to her immediately pulling the cloak off in the process. He entered the captain's room and she was there leaning her back on the table. She smiled faintly at him.

"I saw you put your cloak on and I knew you would wait to see me", she said in a quite voice.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah", she answered not very convincing though, looking at her hands.

Harry closed the door and went to her.

"Ellie", he said caressing her cheek with his hand, making her look at him. "You're not OK."

She smiled at him a little brighter.

"I'm a bit nervous."

"Are you sure?", he asked concerned his hand going down her arm slowly and then around her waist with his other.

"Well, maybe not just a bit. And it doesn't help that everybody thinks you're much better than me - even my house mates", she confessed putting her hands to rest on his chest. "Do you worry about tomorrow?"

"I'm terrified."

She grinned definitely looking better.

"You know what? We shouldn't play tomorrow - just leave them to look for another seekers."

He grinned too.

"That sounds quite tempting, but I'm afraid we'll get killed if we do it."

She started drawing lazy circles on his chest.

"I suppose so. Though it may lead to our houses working together - in order to get us killed. We could become something like Romeo and Juliet - you know the story, don't you?"

"I do, but I don't like the idea", he said while he watched her fingers unbuttoning his robes.

"Thinking of it I don't really want to die because of a stupid game either. So we'll have to do it then?"

"Maybe you could refuse to play. After all in your case it wouldn't be that bad. Betrayal is a trade of your house, isn't it?"

Elena laughed and Harry let go of her to allow her to take his robes off.

"Not when it comes to quidditch. And especially when we're so close to winning the cup. You don't want me to die the most painful dead, do you?"

"It was just a suggestion and you must know what's the best thing to do with your house mates."

He started unbuttoning her robes and she let him slip them down her shoulders before she said anything further.

"It won't affect our relationship, right?", she asked looking up at his eyes and he could see fear flickering in hers for a moment.

He shook his head.

"It won't change anything for me", he assured her, his arms going around her again.

"Really? I mean if I lost my Slytherin pride would surely be damaged and also the feeling of being the best witch in the world, but on the other hand I don't really care about quidditch. You've been playing since first year and I know you love it. And you're not really like that, but wouldn't you feel at least a bit humiliated if you lost to your girlfriend?."

Harry chuckled pulling her closer to him.

"I've been best friends with Hermione Granger for seven years, do you really think I could have a problem with girls being better than me in something?"

Elena shrugged, "I've just been thinking."

"You're thinking too much", he stated his hands moving up and down her back, making her shiver involuntary.

"Am I? Well, that's what intelligent people tend to do most of the time."

"Is that supposed to mean that I'm not intelligent?"

"You surely are more intelligent than Crabbe and Goyle, but…"

Harry's hands stopped moving, but he didn't let her go.

"Be very careful what you say next, love. We're alone - no one will be able to help you", he warned her trying to sound threatening.

She just smirked.

"Harry, I may not be sure if I'm able to beat you on a broom, but there's no chance of you ever beating _me_ in a duel."

"So you think you're better than Voldemort?"

"Of course I am. And there's absolutely nothing that could make me lose to you", she said running her hands up his chest, around his neck and then into his hair, bringing his head down.

"Nothing? What if I did what I did to you by our last meeting in your lovely room?", he whispered in her ear pressing her body to his, making her gasp.

"That's a completely different thing", she exclaimed.

Harry pulled back a bit grinning at her in satisfaction. Then he leaned closer to her. Elena closed her eyes waiting for him to kiss her, but just before he touched her lips he drew back. She opened her eyes frowning at him.

"What happened to 'I'm not snogging with the enemy'?", he whispered smiling teasingly, his hands wandered under her shirt though. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Like you've just pointed out, love, I'm a Slytherin and they are known for being traitors", she said pulling his lips to hers, kissing him forcefully.

Harry didn't even think of pulling back again - instead he lifted her to sit on the table. They continued kissing passionately every thought about quidditch or anything else forgotten. He was just pulling at her shirt when someone opened the door. Harry jumped away from Elena turning around. It was Malfoy - he seemed shocked at first, but overcame it very quickly.

"You should lock the door, you know", Malfoy said walking inside.

Harry was still completely shocked and all he could do was stare at Malfoy who went behind the table Elena was still sitting on. The motion, however, took her out of her trance.

"What the hell are you doing here?", she hissed at Malfoy.

"I forgot my wand. And I didn't think you would… do what you're doing _in here_."

"Why not?", she asked crossing her arms. Harry couldn't do anything but admire her self-control - the only thing that showed what they had been doing a minute ago were her slightly flushed cheeks. He on the other hand was sure that his whole face must be bright red and his heart was still beating rapidly.

"Because", Malfoy drawled bending down behind the table, "this is the changing room of _Slytherin's_ captain. But you've obviously gotten over your problem with Slytherin, Potter", he added after standing up again with his wand in hand.

Malfoy smirked at him and Harry glared back not able to think of a smart reply though. Elena just rolled her eyes.

"Would you _leave_ already?"

"Of course, but don't stay too late, we've got an important game tomorrow… though in your case…", he said walking to the door. "And Ellie", he turned to face her holding the door handle, "I'm sure you can do a simple locking charm, right?", he smirked again.

Harry glanced at Elena just in time to see her stick her tongue at Malfoy, but it just made his smirk bigger as he walked out closing the door behind him. Elena and Harry stood in silence for a minute after he left. She was glaring at the door and he couldn't believe what had just happened. He had been caught making out in Slytherin's locker room by none other than Draco Malfoy himself and on top of that Malfoy had acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"That was weird", he stated.

Elena turned her head to him grinning slightly. She slipped from the table to take her wand from her robes. She locked the door and put it on the table before walking to Harry.

"Don't mind him. He's just teasing", she told him while she pulled at his shirt with one of her hands and the other slipped under it, caressing his bare stomach, making Harry to take a sharp breath. "You don't want to let him destroy one of the rare times we are actually alone, do you?", she asked her hand going up to his chest.

"Can't we go to Gryffindor's locker, maybe?", he asked weakly knowing that she probably wouldn't agree.

"No. It's too red and I don't like red."

"What if I don't like green?"

"Your eyes are green", she answered licking her lips her hand wandering down again.

"But…", Harry had no idea why he was arguing with her at all.

Elena was standing before him with one hand under his t-shirt and the other now pulling at his jeans lightly. She was staring directly into his eyes with longing, her lips parted slowly. It was absolutely ridiculous. He wasn't going to let Malfoy disturb his precious time with Elena - that was his last coherent thought before his lips crushed on hers.

* * *

The time spend with Elena on the previous evening allowed Harry to have a good sleep and he even felt quite well when he woke up in the morning. However, by the time he had come down to the Great Hall for breakfast he was feeling worse than the day before. He couldn't eat anything and the little pumpkin juice he drank felt tasteless and somehow dry. He glanced at the Slytherin table a couple of times. Elena was sitting with Malfoy, but she didn't seem to feel very well herself. She stared at the ceiling with no emotion whatsoever visible and he didn't see her eat anything either. His team mates on the other hand looked much better than he felt. They were all nervous of course, but they were also sure that if something didn't go very wrong - like Ron dropping dead for example - they would be able to score enough and that Harry was going to catch the snitch anyway. If they only knew… Elena's idea of not playing was becoming more and more appealing to him, but sadly it was impossible. He looked down at the food on his plate and felt sick. He nudged Ron and told him they should go - the Slytherins had already left a couple of minutes ago. Ron nodded his agreement and the Gryffindors followed him and Harry out of the Great Hall.

When Harry stepped outside he felt a bit better. It was warm, the sun was shining from the almost cloudless sky and there was a light breeze. A perfect day to lie by the lake and just do nothing, but as always Harry wasn't lucky enough to be able to do such simple things. He followed the others to their locker room and after they had changed Ron told them the tactics one last time with some words of encouragement, but Harry wasn't really able to listen. He almost missed it when the others got up to go outside. He followed them - still lost in his own world of fears - when they went to Madam Hooch who was standing in the middle of the field with her broom in one hand. The Slytherins came out a minute later, but Harry just couldn't look at them - he wasn't sure if it would make him feel better or worse if he did. He had to glance at them though when he heard Ron's hissing, "Since when does she have _that_ broom?"

Harry knew immediately what he meant. Elena was dragging a "Firebolt" behind her - just like Harry's. She hadn't used it in her previous games or by their practices as far as he knew. However, he wasn't really surprised - he supposed that it was part of her tactics to appear as harmless as possible. What made him wondered a bit was the fact that she hadn't gotten another broom - he knew there were better ones by now and she shouldn't have any problems buying one. He didn't give her broom another thought after he looked at her face though. She was as pale as a ghost, which looked really unnatural in the bright sunlight and in contrast to her black hair. Harry noticed only from the corner of his eye Ron and Malfoy shaking hands with the deadliest glares possible and then Madam Hooch had already given them the sign to mount their brooms. She blew her whistle and Harry took off the ground. Being in the air calmed him down like always, but not completely. He flew higher trying to shake himself from all the bad feelings so that he could begin searching for the snitch. When he looked down again Ginny was just flying with the quaffel towards Malfoy. He got distracted by a bludger send from one of Gryffindor's beaters and Ginny was able to score: 10:0 for Gryffindor. Harry smiled a bit while he watched Malfoy shouting something at one of his chasers when he threw the quaffel at him. Then his eyes searched for Elena. She was flying by the other side of the pitch not looking much better, but he shouldn't worry about her that much. They had decided that they had to forget that they were together for the game, but that was much harder than he had thought - he just couldn't stop being concerned about her wellbeing. He had to, however. How was he supposed to catch the snitch if all he could think about was how she was feeling at the moment? Harry turned his gaze away from her and started looking for the snitch.

Ten minutes later Gryffindor was leading with thirty to zero. Harry had started feeling better and when he glanced at Elena and saw her eyes fixed on the players below he decided he could watch them a bit too. Demelza had just managed to take the quaffel from one of Slytherin's chasers before he could score and she threw it at Dean who was the only chaser in Slytherin's half of the pitch. He caught it without a problem turning to fly towards Malfoy - it seemed that Gryffindor was going to score again. Slytherin's chasers and beaters were on the other side of the pitch and Harry watched with slight amusement as they tried to fly back and Goyle tried to hit Dean with a bludger - completely in vain. And actually it he helped Gryffindor because it flew almost directly to one of Gryffindor's beaters who got ready to hit it at Malfoy. Malfoy had to duck from it and Dean had free access to Slytherin's goal posts, but he didn't score. A blurred green form flew pass him - just a couple of inches away - on it's was down before he could throw the quaffel. Dean dropped it and Malfoy caught it and threw it at one of Slytherin's chasers. Elena pulled her broom up mere feet from the ground, bringing it to a complete standstill with such ease it made Harry's eyes go wide. And he wasn't the only one who stared at her in disbelieve. All his team mates and most of the students in the stands were really shocked and Colin Creevey who was commenting the game had suddenly gone silent. The Slytherins used this to score for the first time, which made most people come out of their trance and the game continued. Elena glared at Malfoy when she passed him flying up again and he nodded at her somehow sheepishly. Harry realised that he didn't need to worry about her anymore, because she seemed to have regained some of her confidence after her little stunt and her cheeks had gotten rosier too. What made him worry again though was the fear that even he had underestimated her flying abilities. He had known that she hadn't shown everything she could during the other games, but what she had just performed was a bit scary. He decided to keep a close eye on her - he had the strong feeling that if she got sight of the snitch before he did there wouldn't be much he would be able to do to stop her.

The minutes passed and the game became more and more brutal. Gryffindor was managing to keep the leadership almost all the time, but Slytherin was always close behind and it was becoming very obvious that the outcome of the game was in Harry's and Elena's hands. They had both had one chance each to catch the snitch, but they hadn't been able to do it due to the beaters. Before he knew it they had been playing over two hours and everybody was becoming impatient. The players of both teams had started making more fouls in frustration and Harry's eyes skimmed the air for the snitch almost desperately. He knew Elena was as tense as he was by now. He had seen how she had gripped the handle of her broom when they had passed each other and she had tried to smile at him, but she had just ended up grimacing. Harry really hated this searching and waiting it was going more on his nerves every minute. He wished one of them would finally see the snitch so that there was at least a bit of action. He didn't even care that much who caught it. Watching Elena fly like she did this time made him realise that she was the best seeker he had had to play against in years. He felt really challenged and he wanted to find out who of them was actually better. He had almost forgotten how important this game was, only wishing to measure his skills with her. And he got his chance not five minutes later.

Harry saw the snitch and turned his broom towards it immediately. Elena saw it too and flew to it. They were almost at the same distance from it, but Harry came nearer first and started chasing it. He felt her appear on his left side a couple seconds later though. They flew shoulder on shoulder increasing their speed steadily, but unfortunately the snitch was getting faster too. Harry wondered if it could sense how good the people where who were trying to catch it.

This time the beaters of neither of their teams dared to send a bludger at them in fear they could hit their own seeker. And they flew after the snitch at a speed Harry didn't remember ever reaching during any other game. They chased after it all around the pitch and Elena didn't fall behind at any moment, but none of them was really able to get near enough to touch it. He glanced shortly at her thanking Merlin that her hair was tied tightly around her head, because having her beautiful hair fly behind her would have been a bit of distraction. He didn't linger on that thought for more than two seconds though, turning his attention back to the snitch.

It made a sudden turn in her direction and Harry had to make a wider turn to be able to fly after it. Elena on the other hand pulled her broom very sharply, turning upside down in the process. Before Harry could catch up with her again she stretched one of her arms and caught the snitch. However, letting go of her broom while she was practically hanging on it and that at such a high speed after she had just done a very sharp turn made her lose control of it. Harry watched in horror as she flew towards the ground fast her broom turning her around it's axis. She could only pull at it a bit so that she hit the ground at a flatter angle. After she did, her body moved a few feet along the ground before it came to a stop and Elena lay motionless on the grass. Harry had to make use of all the self-control he possessed to remain where he was and not fly down to her. He gripped his broom so tightly it hurt while he watched Malfoy fly to Elena and practically jump off his broom before he reached the ground. Then all the other Slytherins and Madam Hooch came to her and to Harry it seemed like hours while he watched them gather around her - in reality it wasn't more than a minute. For a second he wondered if anyone had realised that Elena had caught the snitch, but he didn't care - all he wanted was for her to open her eyes. He saw from the corner of his eye his team mates flying down and he did the same automatically while his gaze stayed glued on the group around Elena. Snape had come to the pitch and was now hurrying towards her.

"It's not your fault, Harry", he heard Dean's voice somewhere from the side and he glanced at him for a moment confused. "I mean she's really good and you did your best - she just had more luck."

Now Harry understood. Dean and probably the others thought that he was looking so horrified because he had lost. He nodded curtly at Dean and turned his gaze back to Elena - at least now he had an excuse to look the way he felt. Snape had reached the small group and he made the Slytherins step to the side when he kneeled down opposite from Malfoy who was looking completely terrified. Snape did a couple of spells and after a minute Elena's eyes fluttered open. Harry let out a sigh in relief and for the first time in his life he was glad Severus Snape existed.

Harry looked back at his team mates. They were all looking really dejected and he felt guilt wash over him - he had let them down, Slytherin had won. He narrowed his eyes.

"Where's Ron?", he asked Ginny who was nearest to him.

She shrugged, "He left the pitch almost immediately and I think I saw Hermione running after him."

Harry's guilt increased - he had betrayed his best friend. He wished he had caught the snitch, but not for himself - for Ron. He knew that Ron must feel terrible at the moment. It wasn't just getting beaten by the Slytherins, it was much worse. Ron was Gryffindor's captain and Malfoy was Slytherin's and their defeat was making Malfoy appear better than Ron. Harry could only hope that Ron would be able to get over it before the N.E.W.T.s or at least the end of the year.

"We should go too", Dean said.

"Yeah, I'm not at all in the mood of watching Malfoy receive the cup", Ginny added and they all headed to their locker room.

Harry sighed again and followed them. He still couldn't stop himself from glancing at Elena while he walked though. She was still lying on the ground and she, Snape and Malfoy seemed to be discussing something. The last time he looked at her before he entered Gryffindor's locker room, he saw Snape levitating her.


	28. The First

**28.**** The First**

The rest of the day became a terrible affair for Harry. He was torn between feeling guilty, because they had lost, worrying about how bad Elena had been injured and then again feeling guilty for worrying about her. All in all he was feeling miserable. He had gone to bed early which didn't make him feel any better, but at least there weren't any people who stared at him. He hadn't seen Ron at all. Harry suspected that he was staying in Hermione's private room and she hadn't shown up the whole day either. Still it was better that way, because he had no idea what to say or do with his best friend. His team mates and the other Gryffindors were all downcast, but they didn't blame him. A lot of them actually acknowledged that it had been the best and most thrilling game in years even though Slytherin had won. At dinner he had heard two fifth years talking about how good Elena had been with real admiration and that was also how he knew that she was still in the hospital wing. He didn't know though for how long she would stay there and how she felt. He hadn't dared to ask anyone about her or to try to see for himself, because he knew there must be at least one Slytherin with her.

Harry took his glasses to be able to look at his watch. It was almost two in the morning, which meant that he had been lying in bed for about five hours and he wasn't nearer to falling asleep than when he had gotten into bed. He sat up to put his sneakers and then a cloak over his pyjamas. He couldn't do anything about Ron at the moment, but at least he may be able to find out something about Elena. So he took the invisibility cloak and the Mauderer's map, sneaking out of his dormitory and the Gryffindor common room.

He had no problems reaching the hospital wing and he opened the door as quietly as he could slipping inside. His eyes searched the room for Elena and found her lying in a bed at the far end of it. Harry walked to her and sat on the edge of her bed carefully. He searched her form for any indications of how bad she had been injured, but he couldn't see any bandages and she didn't have any visible scars. If he didn't know better he would have thought she was just sleeping peacefully, however, Madam Pomfry wouldn't have made Elena stay for the night if she was fine. His fingers brushed the hair from her face gently. She looked so beautiful even now and he couldn't believe that once he had thought that she looked normal. From the long curls of her hair which still felt soft even when it looked as messy as his, her porcelain skin - he just loved touching, the rosy lips - he wished he would never stop kissing, to her brilliant black eyes that made his heart stop whenever they looked into his. And exactly those eyes opened while he caressed her cheek. Harry's hand froze - he hadn't intended to wake her up. When her lips curved into a sleepy smile though he couldn't help but smile too.

"Harry", she whispered. "You've come to see me?"

"Of course, I was really worried about you. How are you?", he asked concerned.

"Great", she answered grinning. "My right arm was broken and my whole back side was bruised and it hurt like hell", she explained still grinning.

Now he looked even more concerned.

"That doesn't sound 'great' to me."

"Madam Pomfry fixed my arm immediately and then gave me something for the bruises. And Snape gave me some potion too, he said I'll be fine tomorrow. And I was lucky I didn't hurt my head - I fainted because of the pain", she started nodding her head absently.

Harry looked at her thoughtfully.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head? You're acting a bit strange."

She focused her eyes on him smiling brightly again, which didn't really make him feel better.

"I am sure. It may be Snape's potion though. I think he said it had a very strong pain relieving effect and I really don't feel any pain at all, but it could have similar effects like muggle pills."

"He may have poisoned you", Harry suggest only half jokingly.

"Nonsense, I'm his favourite student in the moment. You should have seen his face when Draco got the cup."

"Actually I'm quite glad I didn't."

Elena's eyes widened and her overly happy expression was replaced by one of total horror in less than a second.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. You must hate me."

"Don't be silly. It was just a game."

"No, it wasn't. It was your last quidditch game at Hogwarts. And you lost and Gryffindor couldn't win the cup and the two people you hate most in the whole school were really happy and all because of _me_", by the time she stopped talking, she was on the verge of tears.

Harry placed his hands on her cheeks and brought his face down to hers in attempt to prevent her from crying.

"Ellie, you played more than fairly and you won", he said kissing her forehead. "That's nothing you should regret", then he kissed her nose. "I love you and no stupid game is going to make me stop", he finished kissing her lips too.

He looked into her eyes and he was glad to see that she wasn't going to cry although now there was sadness.

"I don't deserve you."

"You're probably the best student in Hogwarts and since yesterday the best quidditch player. How on earth can you think that you don't deserve me?"

Elena shook her head.

"That doesn't mean anything and you know it."

Harry sat up at a loss of words. They were back at the time after their fight. He had really thought she had overcome her fears, but apparently she had just stored them somewhere deep inside her and now - thanks to Snape's potion - they were back. He couldn't understand how a girl as brilliant as Elena could be so unsure of herself. And he had no idea how to explain to her once and for all that she didn't need to worry about him. He sighed in frustration, looking away from her for a moment.

"Ellie, could you just stop thinking our relationship over and over all the time?", he said finally keeping his voice to a whisper with great difficulties. "Because it's very simple: I love you and I won't change my mind no matter what anyone says - even you. You said you wanted to be my girlfriend and now you're stuck with me."

"But I'm a terrible girlfriend."

"You're not! You're brilliant."

"Really?", there was a slight change in her voice and he decided to hold onto it.

"Yes", he answered much calmer.

"You don't just…"

"No", he interrupted her, his hand caressing her cheek again.

Elena bit her lip.

"If you say so, but I don't really know how to behave like a proper girlfriend… I've never had a boyfriend before", she added quietly staring at the ceiling.

Harry stared at her surprised his hand stopping in midair.

"You haven't?"

"Nope."

"But… but you seemed to know exactly what you were doing… most of the time at least."

She turned her eyes back to him smiling sheepishly.

"My friend Dion has told me a lot of things about what you do in a relationship and she's… quite experienced. She has been telling me I needed to get myself a boyfriend for years now, but I never had time or someone I liked enough… and being with someone just for the sake of having a boyfriend is stupid."

Harry remained silent for a while reflecting on what she had just said and also the fact that - probably due to Snape's potion - Elena was most likely to tell him the truth about everything he asked. And as much as he wondered about her insecurities considering their relationship, he still had his own fears and doubts. So he couldn't stop himself from asking the next question although he knew he was taking advantage of her current state.

"Have you ever kissed Malfoy?"

"Eeew!", Harry smiled satisfied. "He's like my brother, how can you even think of something like that?"

"But you've kissed before?", he asked casually taking one of her hands in his.

"I have a couple of times - only muggles… you know - on parties during the summer holidays, nothing special though…"

His satisfaction grew while he played with the fingers of her hand. Not that he _really_ cared about such things, but it did feel good to know that no one had touched her the way he could.

"…and when you kissed me the first time… it was just mind-blowing and it scared the hell out of me..."

Harry looked back at her face after the last part, frowning slightly.

"Why?"

"I had never felt anything like it before and I never thought I would fall in love with _you_ or that you could _really_ love me…"

He leaned a bit closer.

"But I love you - more than anything else in the world."

She smiled dreamily again.

"I love you too. _And_ you're the best boyfriend a girl could wish for", she told him sweetly.

Harry shook his head.

"I think Snape has given you some sort of drugs."

Elena started to giggle and Harry had put his finger on her lips to stop her.

"Madam Pomfry'll hear you."

"Mmm…", her expression became more serious, but her eyes were now gleaming. "Harry, love, we should watch a movie tomorrow."

"Shouldn't you rest?"

"Snape said I'll be like new in the morning because of his bloody potion. And if it turns out he had been lying… _Then_ I'm going to say I've taken Felix Felicis or something like that and Slytherin'll be disqualified and you'll win."

"You haven't really?"

"Nooo, but it would serve him right for lying", she said with a completely serious expression making Harry grin.

"Good, though - and I hate saying it - Snape knows what he's doing when it comes to potions. So when do you want to watch the movie?"

"After lunch in the room of requirement."

"Why not in your room?"

"The room of requirement's neutral territory."

"Aha… Then at one in the room of requirement?"

"Exactly", she agreed and the strange gleam was back in her eyes, leaving Harry to wonder what she was really planning.

"Well", he said slowly, "I should leave now. I just wanted to get sure that you are somehow fine."

"Don't I get a kiss goodnight?", she pouted her lips when he started to get up.

Harry smiled.

"Of course you do, my love", he leaned down kissing her lips lightly. When he drew back, Elena looked a bit disappointed at him, but Harry just grinned. "And now go to sleep again so that you're well rested tomorrow", he said before he kissed her forehead. "Good night."

A bright smile graced her face while she watched him stand up.

"Night, love", she whispered closing her eyes.

* * *

On the next day Harry woke up late so he went directly to the Great Hall for lunch. He still felt guilty for not catching the snitch, but he hadn't come up with an idea of what to do with Ron either. Not to mention that telling his friends about his relationship with Elena would be even more difficult than before the game. He hadn't really thought of telling them yet, but it would surely make him seem like a traitor and maybe he was. However, giving her up wasn't an option - he loved her and he would do anything just to be able to be with her.

Harry entered the Great Hall searching the Gryffindor table for Ron and Hermione. They weren't there so he made his way to sit with Neville while trying to ignore the whispers that had started.

"Hello, Neville", he said after he sat down and started to put some food on his plate.

"How are you, Harry?", Neville asked.

"Not too bad."

Neville didn't look very convinced.

"Really - it's not the end of the world. Have you seen Ron or Hermione since yesterday?", he asked trying to change the topic.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot - Hermione came to the common room earlier. She wanted to know how you have been and she said she and Ron will probably stay in her room the whole day."

"Oh, OK."

"Harry, if you feel lonely or something you can always stay with me and Seamus."

"No. No, I'd rather be alone. Actually I thought of spending some time in the room of requirement - maybe to study a bit and… be alone. Could you tell Hermione that if you see her again? And that she doesn't have to worry about me?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Neville", and with that they both turned to their food.

After Harry finished eating he headed straight to the room of requirement. It was almost one and he didn't really want to go back to his common room. He hadn't seen Elena - or Malfoy - at lunch and he hoped that Madam Pomfry hadn't made her stay in the hospital wing. And while he walked through the castle he also wondered if she actually remember their conversation during the night. She hadn't been quite herself because of the potion, but it had been her idea after all. However, Harry pushed all the negative thoughts aside the moment they came to his mind - he _was_ going to spend the afternoon alone with Elena. He yearned to be with her, to forget at least for a while everything else and he wasn't disappointed - Pimki was already waiting for him as he arrived the seventh floor.

When Harry entered the room of requirement the first thing that caught his eye was a dark red couch in front of the TV. Elena had never done anything in red, but he had to admit that she was very good at it nonetheless. With the black carpet, the stone walls and the soft glow of the fire in the big fireplace on the other side the room looked quite amazing.

"How are you today?", he asked still admiring the room.

"Great and this time it's true", her soft voice made him shiver and when he finally looked at her his breath caught in his throat.

Elena threw a few strands from her hair behind her back, a smile playing across her lips while she watched his reaction to her outfit. She was wearing a dress that hugged her upper body tightly and had a wide skirt reaching just above her knees _and_ it was red. Harry thought that she had never looked more gorgeous.

"Well, won't we sit down?", she asked smirking slightly.

Harry tore his eyes away from her body to look at her face with some difficulties and all he could do was nod. He headed to the couch not quite sure his legs could carry him that far. He knew that he was acting like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. He had also thought that he was past the time of getting stunned from only looking at her - and that fully clothed -, but obviously he had been wrong. He had never seen Elena wear anything which had even the slightest hint of red before and it was making him a bit dizzy.

"I thought you didn't like red", he managed to say finally after he sat down.

"I don't, but you do, right?", she asked sitting next to him.

He nodded slowly.

"Like a true Gryffindor", she smiled at him. "I thought you may need a bit of cheering up", she said taking a full wine glass from the small couch table in front of them and gestured Harry to take the other.

"Wine?", he asked.

"No, cherry juice", she grinned.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Seriously. It's sour cherry juice - I don't like wine."

"And I thought this was going to be romantic."

"Can't you be romantic without being drunk? If you really have a problem with it, I'm sure Pimki'll be able to find you some alcohol."

"No, I was just joking."

"Good and we can still make a toast."

"To Slytherin?"

She rolled her eyes.

"To us."

Elena's eyes were gleaming and Harry wondered again what she was up to. After they had both drank from the juice, she turned to the TV and the fire went out. For a couple of seconds the room was completely dark and then she started the TV, Harry turned to watch too.

"What movie is this?", he asked.

"'Cruel Intentions'" she grinned at him wickedly.

He frowned a bit.

"Relax, Harry. It's one of my favourite."

* * *

Elena sighed when the credits began and Harry looked at her carefully.

"Do you want to tell me something with this movie?"

She lightened the fire again before she turned to him smirking.

"I'm not with you because of some bet if that's what you're afraid of. I just like the movie very much - the cruelty mixed with passion and sex and in the end he does fall in love."

"And gets himself killed."

"That's just because it's based on a French novel from the 18. century. But it's _much_ better than the sequels or the actual book adaptations and the music's just brilliant. A shame you don't like it."

"I didn't say that. I've been just thinking… which one of the girls do you resemble the most?"

Elena moved closer to him.

"What do _you_ think?"

He looked her up and down.

"Right now you look a lot like Kathryn and I'm sure you can be just as mean and calculating as she is. Which should probably make consider if I really want to be with you, but…"

"But since last night you know it's just pretence."

"I hoped you may have forgotten that part of our conversation."

"My memory's perfectly fine."

"Are you angry?"

"No. I don't really care if you know it and it's not like you've had so much experience either. You did have something with that Ravenclaw - Cho Chang wasn't it? But with no other girl?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Yeah", she smirked. "You seem to have something for female seekers, don't you?"

He chuckled a bit.

"Surely not for male seekers."

"_That_ would have been indeed a bit disturbing considering the fact that we're supposed to be together. However, I must say I'm quite disappointed in you… you didn't have the courage to ask me when I wasn't kind of intoxicated. Not very Gryffindor-like of you."

Elena looked quite serious while she said it, but Harry knew that she was just teasing.

"You're rubbing off on me."

She smirked.

"Am I?"

"Definitely."

She leaned closer to his face.

"Won't you do anything about it?"

He smirked too.

"Not in the moment", he said before he kissed her, pulling her body to his.

After a while Harry was sitting on the couch shirtless with Elena on his lap. He was kissing her neck slowly and his hand pulled the zipper of her dress. He slid it down her arms exposing her upper body and a red lacy bra. Harry smirked before kissing her lips. One of Elena's hands was in his hair and the other was moving slowly over his chest. His hand moved along her thigh and under her dress. Before it could go very far though, Elena pulled away from him and he looked at her confused. She stood up and Harry couldn't hold a disappointed groan. He was about to pull her back down when she smiled seductively at him and let her dress fall to the ground. Harry's mouth went dry. It was not like he hadn't seen her in her underwear before - he had a couple of times actually -, but the red lace was driving him crazy for some reason. Elena seemed satisfied with the way he was drinking her in with his gaze. She stretched her hand and Harry took it. She pulled him to his feet and then she kissed him passionately. After a minute she broke away and pushed him back to sit on the couch - only that it wasn't there anymore. Instead of the couch he was sitting on a large bed. Harry swallowed.

"Do you want to…?"

"Lie back down."

He did very willingly, pulling himself to lie completely on the bed. He sighed quietly when the cool, dark blue sheets made contact with his burning skin. Elena followed him climbing on the bed. She moved like a cat up his body until her head was at the same level as his, their noses almost touching.

"Do you?", she whispered sending shivers down his spine. Instead of answering he brought his lips to hers.

* * *

A couple of hours later Harry woke up in unfamiliar surroundings. He blinked a few times, but that didn't help him to see anything - the room was almost completely dark. He sat up and the silky sheets felt down his chest. That was when he realised that he was naked and a couple of seconds later he also remembered the reason for it. He smiled goofily and turned to his left hoping to find his glasses where he vaguely remembered putting them. And they were indeed safely placed on the nightstand next to the bed, he put them on and looked to his right. Elena was lying on her stomach hugging the pillow under her head, her hair spread all over the place. Harry lay back down facing her sleeping form, the smile never leaving his face. He watched her sleep for a while wondering what he had done to deserve such a girl. He let his fingers move along her arm and down her back to the place the sheets began to cover it. She was his and there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep it that way. When he looked back at her face his eyes met her now opened ones and a smile that mirrored his. They stared at each other for some time before Harry decided to finally say something.

"Did you come up with this last night?"

He could see her blushing even at the faint light of the dieing fire, but she didn't look away.

"Actually I've been thinking about it for a while, but I wanted quidditch to be over first. You were so sweet and caring last night and it just occurred to me that today may be the right time… Do you think it was too early?"

"No", he answered sincerely and then the smile faded from his face for the first time since he had woken up. "And we don't really have so much time left - it's just about a month and a half till the end of the year."

Elena moved closer to him and pulled herself up a bit before she caressed his cheek lovingly.

"Forget about everything else just for a little longer", she whispered and then she kissed him.

Harry relaxed immediately burring one of his hands in her hair, pulling her closer to him. She broke away after a couple of minutes and kissed his nose.

"Do you have an idea what time it is?"

He shook his head and Elena frowned a bit. All of a sudden the room became much lighter and it blinded him for a moment so that he only felt the sheets sliding away from his body with Elena. He managed to take hold of them just before he was about to be left lying naked in front of her.

"What are you doing?", he hissed at her sitting up.

"Getting up", she answered pulling at the sheets, but Harry held them tightly. "Let go, Harry. I've seen you naked just a couple of hours ago."

"I can say the same for you. Why do you need them?"

She lessened her grip on the sheets smiling sweetly at him.

"Because as far as I can remember by the time I was completely naked you didn't have your glasses on. And _that_ is a completely different thing."

Elena used his momentary shock to pull the sheets away from him. Before she stood up though she threw her pillow at him giggling. Harry was about to throw it back at her when he realised why she had done it and he covered himself with it. He watched her rap the sheets tighter around herself still a bit offended.

"That was mean."

"But true", she grinned at him.

She started collecting her clothes and Harry could only glance at her bra and panties as she took them from the ground.

"Weren't they red?", he asked.

"Temporary colouring charm", she grinned at him while managing to put them on without him seeing anything but her head. "The only red clothes that I have are the kit of my favourite football club. And I figured it wouldn't do to seduce you."

"Football?"

"Yes, football" she rolled her eyes at his unbelieving expression.

"But you look really amazing in red."

"Then you should try to remember how I looked because you won't see me wearing red anytime soon", she smirked throwing his boxer shorts at him.

He put them on and started to get out of the bed. He stopped with one foot on the ground though. Elena, who had gone to the other side of the room - where some clothes lay on a chair - had just dropped the sheets. And he thought that black was just as good as red while he watched her put jeans on. He swallowed hard.

"Ellie?", she turned to him, buttoning her jeans. "You don't think we could…"

She grinned looking at her watch, "We don't have time."

"But I told Neville where I would be and Ron's probably still sulking in Hermione's room, so…"

"Dinner's already over. We should eat something and then go back to our common rooms before curfew starts. We have classes tomorrow", she told him slipping her shirt on.

Harry thought of arguing for a moment, but he knew she was right. He sighed and stood up to take his jeans. After he had put them on Elena came to stand before him. He looked down at her eyes which were sparkling playfully.

"Don't worry, Harry, we'll do it again as soon as possible", she assured him gliding her fingers across his bare chest.

Then she turned to the small couch table that was still there. "Pimki", she called her house elf and Harry turned to look for his shirt.

Pimki appeared already holding a large tablet with food. Elena sat on the ground in front of the table smiling at Pimki while she put the food on it. By the time Pimki had disappeared and Elena had started eating Harry still hadn't found his shirt though.

"Have you seen my shirt?", he asked looking shortly at Elena.

She shook her head and Harry turned to look for it again, but after a couple of seconds he turned back to her.

"_Ellie!_"

She looked innocently at him, but he wasn't fooled by it.

"Are you cold?", she asked smiling sweetly.

"Well, not really, but…"

"Then come here and eat something", she patted the ground next to her. "I'm sure your shirt'll appear before we leave."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you?"

"Mhmm… Some chips?"

Looking at the chips made Harry realise just how hungry he was so he chose to forget about the shirt. He sat next to Elena and began eating without another word.

* * *

After eating up they both lay down on the ground enjoying the feeling of being together in peace. Elena was first to break the silence this time.

"Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you remember our bet?", she asked carefully turning her head to look at him.

To be honest he had totally forgotten about it in the last couple of weeks, but he nodded.

"What do I have to do?", he asked also turning his head to her.

"Go to the seventh year dance alone."

Harry looked at her slightly confused - he had forgotten about the dance too.

"We can't really go together, can we?", she added.

"No, we can't", he said more to himself than to Elena. Now that he thought about he wanted to go with her of course, but that was very near to impossible. "Are you going alone too?", he asked after a while.

"No, I'll go with Draco."

"Why?", Harry almost shouted sitting up.

"Harry, you can't be still jealous of Draco", she said also sitting up.

"I'm not!"

"Then what's your problem?"

"I… It's just… Why can't I go with someone too?"

"Who?"

"I don't know - some girl."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"You don't even know who. Besides whomever you ask - she'll think that you like her and that she may have a chance with you and that's not the case. Draco has a girlfriend and he knows we're a couple _and_ we've decided to go together months ago. Would it hurt your pride so much if you go alone?"

Harry didn't answer and looked away. She sighed.

"Just look at it that way: you lost the bet and now you _have to_ go alone to the dance."

He nodded slowly still not looking at her.

"Why are you so good at quidditch if you hate it?", he asked her, the thought just popping in his mind.

Elena was surprised at the sudden change of topic, but she didn't comment on it.

"Well, I did like it a long time ago. I used to play a lot before Hogwarts with my cousins. One of them is actually Viktor Krum", she added more quietly.

Harry turned his head so quickly towards her that it almost hurt.

"_The_ Viktor Krum?"

She smiled sheepishly at him.

"My grandfather and his grandmother are siblings, but the last time we flew together was before he started playing professionally and that was quite a long time ago. Although I suppose quidditch's like riding a bike - you can never forget how to do it. That's why I'm still so good. And it _was_ kind of exiting chasing the snitch with you, but there are other things I would like to do with you much more", Elena finished moving closer to him.

She smiled hoping to pacify him and it worked. Harry smiled back his annoyance disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"So you had fun playing yesterday", he asked taking a strand from her still messy hair in his hand.

"Yeah."

"Which means that you do like quidditch", he teased.

"I love flying _not_ quidditch! Those are two completely different things."

"If you say so, love."

"Yes, I say so. Could we, please, not talk about quidditch anymore."

"But you won."

"I don't care. I've just had enough of it for the next ten years - at least."

Harry chuckled.

"Ellie…"

"I'm serious, Harry, from now on the word 'quidditch' doesn't exist for me, OK?"

"OK", he smiled pulling her to sit on his lap. "We could talk about football instead."

She grinned.

"Do you know anything about football?"

"Of course I do", he said looking offended.

"Mmm…", she put her hands around his neck. "Which is your favourite team?"

"I… I don't remember. It's been a while. And yours?"

"Let me see… My absolutely favourite team is one club from Bulgaria - Sofia more precisely - their kit is red. From the international clubs I like Real Madrid the most - their goalkeeper is really sweet. As for national teams I'm for Bulgaria of course, but they aren't that good normally and then I'm for England or Spain - the same keeper plays on their national team too and he's just my favourite player in the moment. I'm not some fanatic fan or something like that, but I enjoy watching matches and when there's the European Championship or the World Cup I watch as much as possible. I also follow the Champions League and some of the national leagues. My uncle - the muggle - always records the important games and then sends them to me and my cousin if they had been good. I always get the final of the Champions League - that's actually going to be soon - we could watch it together when I get the video."

Harry stared at her in awe not knowing what to say.

"Are you impressed now?", she smirked trailing his jaw line with one finger.

"Very much."

She smiled starting to kiss his neck. He let her do it for a while, but then he came to his senses.

"Ahm, Ellie…"

"What?", she breathed into his ear.

"Didn't… Didn't you say we shouldn't, because there was no time…", he trailed off the feeling was just too good.

"You know, I think I may have been wrong", she whispered sucking at the sensitive skin of his neck.

"You mean… I was right?"

Elena pulled away sighing gravely. She wasn't looking at his face, but at his chest and Harry wondered for a moment if he hadn't said the wrong thing. A couple of seconds later though Elena had pulled her shirt over her head so fast it made his eyes go wide. Then she looked at his face smiling mischievously.

"Only this time, love."

Harry grinned as his hands found their way around her waist quickly and before she knew it he had her pinned to the floor. Elena laughed, but gasped at the same time when he started kissing her neck his hands roaming over her body.


	29. Longing And Other Disasters

**29.**** Longing And Other Disasters**

On the next morning Harry remained lying in bed for a while. He smiled to himself repeating the events of the previous day in his head. When he finally got up the other boys had already left. He got dressed quickly and hurried to the Great Hall. He didn't meet anyone on the way, which only indicated that he was quite late, but his good mood didn't falter at all at this realisation. He entered the Great Hall and went towards Ron and Hermione with a slight smile on his face, but when he got close enough to be able to make out Ron's expression his heart sank. For a second he wondered why his best friend looked so downcast and then it hit him. The game - he had completely forgotten about it. The moment he remembered it though the guilt washed over him again so that when he sat down across from Hermione he looked almost as downcast as Ron.

"Morning", he muttered.

"Good morning", Hermione smiled sympathetically at him.

Ron's only acknowledgement of Harry's arrival was a slight nod. He didn't even look up from his plate, continuing to push the food around it. Harry frowned at the almost full plate. If Ron wasn't in the mood to eat then he must be feeling really bad.

"And how are you, Harry?"

He turned his attention back to Hermione shrugging.

"As fine as I can be", he answered before he started eating without much enthusiasm and Hermione left him in peace probably feeling grateful that at least _he_ was eating.

After eating half of his eggs in silence Harry couldn't stand it anymore and he looked at Ron.

"I'm sorry, Ron. It was my fault we lost not yours."

Ron looked up slowly, his face completely expressionless. Hermione looked between them for a moment deciding to interfere.

"No, it wasn't your fault either, Harry. And it was just a game for God's sake. Can't you stop acting like someone has died?", the last part was direct more at Ron than at Harry and he wondered what Hermione had been through trying to cheer Ron up in the last two days.

"Ron, tell Harry it wasn't his fault and I don't want to hear _anything_ about quidditch until the N.E.W.T.s are over, clear?"

Both boys nodded slowly and Ron turned to his plate again.

"_Ron_."

Harry wanted to protest that it wasn't necessary for him to say anything, but Ron was faster.

"It's not your fault, Harry", he mumble barely audible before pushing a full spoon into his mouth - probably only in frustration.

* * *

At lunch Ron was still in the same bad mood and Harry wasn't feeling any better either. They hadn't mentioned quidditch anymore like Hermione had told them, but they haven't really talk to each other. After some time of glancing at Ron and his full plate, Harry glanced at Hermione making sure she was absorbed in her Arithmancy textbook and only then did he dare to look at the Slytherin table. Elena was sitting with Malfoy and there was a large group of Slytherins around them. Most were looking at Malfoy who was most certainly bragging and Elena was smiling confidently. Of course she was, Harry thought a bit bitterly, she didn't have to deal with terribly moody friends. At that moment though she looked up and their eyes met. Her smile brightened and he knew that this time it was only for him. His heart fluttered and all the bad thoughts disappeared from his mind. Mere seconds later she turned her head back to Malfoy and Harry looked down at his plate blushing slightly when for some reason a couple of very vivid images from the night before flashed before his eyes.

A few minutes later Harry decided that it was safe to glance at her again, but when he did he frowned. Malfoy had put one arm around Elena and was whispering something into her ear. What on earth was he doing?! That surely wasn't either brotherly nor best friend behaviour - they almost looked as if they were going to kiss any moment. Harry had already started imagining ripping Malfoy apart when he noticed him turning his eyes to glare at someone. Harry followed Malfoy's gaze automatically and saw one of the Slytherins turning his head away from the two of them. Harry looked confused for a moment, but when he looked back at Elena Malfoy was already letting her go and then it dawn to him. Malfoy had just been showing the other Slytherin that Elena was his girlfriend, which Harry realised was what everybody thought. That didn't mean though that he liked it - not at all.

When Harry headed to DADA with Ron and Hermione after lunch he was still considering what to do about Malfoy's and Elena's 'relationship'. The one thing he really wanted to do was to let everybody know that she _his_ girlfriend and not Malfoy's. That meant, however, telling his friends also and he was kind of afraid of that - especially telling Ron and that in his present condition. He could ask Elena to 'break up' with Malfoy, but he wasn't sure if that was such a good idea either. He had caught a couple of boys staring at her in the Great Hall and who knew what they were going to do if they thought that she was free. So all in all the only thing he could actually do was to try to suppress the jealousy every time he watched them act as a couple. It wasn't the most pleasant thing, but he couldn't think of anything better at the moment.

After reaching the class room Harry parted from his friends and went to sit in the back. He tapped his fingers on the desk while waiting impatiently for the others and Rush to arrive. Not long after they had come, Malfoy, Elena, Crabbe and Goyle walked in. Malfoy's eyes fell immediately on Ron and Harry's eyes widened slightly. This must be the first time Ron and Malfoy were so near to each other after the game and that didn't mean anything good.

Malfoy smirked triumphantly at Ron, but that was the only thing he did before he took his seat in the front. Elena sent him a warning look and turned to walk to their desk. For a moment Harry was quite astonished that she could keep Malfoy from bragging at Ron. After all the hate between the Malfoys and the Weasleys was legendary. Harry still remembered very clearly Mr Weasley's and Mr Malfoy's fight in Flourish and Blotts and he knew Malfoy must be dieing to rub his victory in Ron's face. After realising though that he was staring at her, Harry looked down at his hands aware of all the eyes on him and Elena. Some of the students looked as if they were thinking that they would both explode or something like that. He clenched his jaw - would people ever stop staring at him? Elena brushed her hand along his back while she went behind him to sit in her chair. Amazingly no one seemed to notice the small gesture, but it made Harry feel a bit calmer.

After taking her things out Elena began her favourite occupation during DADA class - she looked out of the window. Harry on the other hand continued to stare at his hands and nothing changed after the class began. He tried to follow Rush's lecture, but it was boring him out of his mind and the lesson was quickly turning in one of the worst so far. He couldn't even glance at Elena, because the other students continued to send suspicious looks their way every now and then - even Hermione had turned a couple of times. It was driving him insane. He could literary feel her body a couple of inches away from his and he wasn't able to even look at her. Harry leaned back in his chair letting his arms fall to his sides. He took a deep breath wondering how she managed to be so calm at the moment - for him it felt like torture. Not a minute later though he felt her hand move and then close around his under their desk. He fixed his eyes on Rush trying to look indifferent, but he squeezed Elena's hand and neither of them let go for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

Harry and Elena decided to do the homework right after class so they headed to the library together. It wasn't a very nice experience though - from Ron's dark look at Elena to all the stares and whispers while they walked through the corridors. To be honest if he hadn't been in love with Elena he doubted that he would have been able to walk so peacefully beside her after she had beat him. And it must seem quite strange to everybody else that they could even stand so near each other with all the hate between Gryffindor and Slytherin. That wasn't the point, however, because he _was_ in love with her and the staring and whispering was just going on his nerves. They both tried to look as if it was the last situation they wanted to be in and it was in a way. Just that they _did_ want to be near each other and didn't want all the others there.

They sat on their usual table in the back of the library and started writing, but it wasn't easy to concentrate. Harry didn't remember the library ever being so loud. Even after Madam Pince had warned some of the students most of them didn't stop whispering to each other. And there was someone walking by their table almost all the time. They were trying to look as if it was unintentionally, but Harry knew that hardly any of them had something to do in the back of the library. After some time he heard Elena sigh.

"Would you mind if I snogged you senseless right now? At least then they'll really have something to gossip about", she whispered.

Harry looked up at her, but Elena was still writing.

"I wouldn't, but what would your dear _Draco_ say when he finds out his girlfriend snogged his worst enemy?"

"_Actually_ I think that he doesn't really love me. He was just interested in the quidditch cup and now that we won it, he hardly spends any time with me."

"Poor you. Anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Finally Elena looked up meeting his eyes with an expression that made Harry forget where they were for a moment, leaving him only with the strong urge to snog _her_ senseless.

"I could think of a couple of things…", she answered and then she bit her lip. "Can you go earlier to Potions tomorrow?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Same corridor we go after Potions?"

She grinned at him nodding, but a faint noise from behind Harry made her look over his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and although she wasn't able to see anyone they decided to return to their homework.

* * *

Harry was pinning Elena to a stone wall kissing her mouth hungrily. One of his hands had gone under her shirt massaging one of her breasts and she moaned into his mouth pulling him even closer to her. He started kissing her neck and Elena - as dazed as she was - managed to look at her watch.

"We're almost…", but she couldn't finish because Harry's mouth was on hers again.

After some time she pushed him away, both breathing hard.

"We can't… both be… late… for Potions…", she managed to say between breaths.

Harry nodded very unwillingly and let Elena straighten out his robes. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself, but it didn't work very well.

"You go first", she told him still looking him over sceptically. "If you run it shouldn't be so obvious what we've been doing."

Harry nodded again almost ready to go, but then Elena gave him a peck on the cheek and that was all it took to vanish the small amount of self-control he had gained. He kissed her again. She didn't protest first, but then he felt her wand pressed against his stomach and he let go of her reluctantly.

"_Go_… I'll hex you", she warned.

Harry just looked at her. Her robes were still unbuttoned, her heaving chest clad only in a simple shirt, even some of her hair had gotten loosen from the braid and not to mention her flushed cheeks, the swollen lips and her clouded eyes. Her whole body practically screamed for him to kiss her again, but he decided to at least look at his watch before he tried to do it.

"Damn!", it was two minutes before the begin of class.

"Exactly."

He glanced at her one last time smirking.

"You wouldn't have hexed me."

And before she could retort he had started running towards Snape's class room. He reached it before Snape and went to sit next to Ron panting only partly from the running. Hermione leaned over Ron to look at Harry.

"Weren't you supposed to come early?", she asked him.

"I forgot my textbook and had to run to Gryffindor tower."

Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but Snape came in just then and they both turned to him. He noticed that Snape seemed unnaturally happy - so much that he actually forgot glaring at him. Harry also kept glancing at the door for Elena. She came in five minutes later, no sign of their activities whatsoever. She muttered a quite 'Sorry, Professor' and Snape just gestured for her to sit down. Harry knew that if it had been him Snape would have taken at least twenty points from Gryffindor and he also wondered if Snape would have been so generous with Elena if he had known the reason for her being late. Harry smirked down at his cauldron imagining Snape's face if he found out what his favourite student had been doing with his last favourite student.

"Now she thinks she can do whatever she wants without caring about any rules like everybody else."

Harry glanced at Ron, but he didn't really need to see his glare directed at Elena to know he had been talking about her.

"That little…"

"_Ron!_", Hermione hissed.

Ron turned to glare at her.

"What? She's just like Malfoy if not worse."

Harry turned away clenching his fits tightly. If Ron hated Elena as much as Malfoy then he didn't even want to think of his best friend's reaction when he found out about Harry's secret relationship.

* * *

The next couple of days turned out very frustrating for Harry. Hermione made him revision all the time - partly because she wanted to get Ron's mind away from the lost cup. Furthermore he suspected that all the teachers were giving them even more assignments just because quidditch was over. He could hardly spend any time alone with Elena. They weren't able to do anything but share a couple of hot kisses, which was far from satisfying compared to their activities lately. And the worst part was that after the game Elena's popularity had grown immensely. There were quite a few boys who stared at her and even followed her around - not only Slytherins. Harry had caught himself wishing to beat up some of them a couple of times. Elena was his girl and they didn't have any right to swoon over her. The only thing that held all of them from approaching her was the fact that everybody thought that she and Malfoy were together. And Harry had become somehow grateful for it - as much as he still hated that fact -, because otherwise he would have had to watch her admirers actually hitting on her. Something he wouldn't have been able to do without exploding. In addition he and Elena couldn't meet in her room or even the room of requirement. He had tried to tell Hermione once that he wanted to study alone for a while and she had send him such a look of betrayal that he didn't even think about it anymore. He knew she didn't want to be alone with Ron for a longer amount of time and he couldn't really blame her. Ron was still acting as if someone had died and additionally as if Elena had been the murderer. Harry felt quite guilty for losing the cup, but as the time passed the guilt was bit by bit being replaced by annoyance. He knew quidditch meant much to Ron and that losing from Malfoy felt terrible for him, but they did have only a few weeks till the N.E.W.T.s and he had no idea how Ron was going to pass them if he continued acting like that. Or how long he would be able to listen to Ron accusing Elena of all sort of things without hurting his best friend.

The constant stress was slowly driving Harry crazy. He knew that the only thing that could make him feel better was being with Elena, but he couldn't and it was making everything worse. The less he saw her the more he wanted her. He was also completely aware that sometimes he was acting like a horny teenager, but to hell with that - he was one and there was no point in denying it. Thankfully he wasn't the only one who suffered from the lack of alone-time. On Friday Elena passed him a note shortly before the end of DADA class:

"_At my room directly after classes end. And I don't care how or why."_

She didn't give him an opportunity to protest and he didn't even think about it. Right after their last class he lied to Ron and Hermione that he had to do DADA with Elena in the library and then he hurried towards the dungeons under the invisibility cloak.

* * *

A couple of hours later Harry finally managed to leave Elena's room after a few unsuccessful attempts. He walked with a smile under the invisibility cloak and still feeling a bit dizzy. Shortly before he reached the Entrance Hall he decided that it was safe to put away the cloak since most students should be at dinner anyway. He went up the stairs from the dungeons taking two at a time and then turned to the main staircase leading to the upper floors.

"Harry!"

He stopped dead. Hermione and Ron had obviously just exited the Great Hall.

"Where have you been?", she asked coming nearer with Ron trailing behind.

"I… I went for a walk."

"In the dungeons?!"

Hermione stopped a couple of feet before Harry eyeing him up and down - she knew he was lying.

"And why weren't you in the library earlier? I searched for you there over two hours ago - you couldn't have finished the essay so quickly."

Harry could only stare at her trying not to show the horror he felt.

"You haven't been in there at all, have you?"

He still hadn't even moved, but Hermione took his silence as a 'yes'. She narrowed her eyes at his face and then without another word started dragging him by his sleeve to the stairs leading to the first floor. Ron hurried after them and for the first time since the game he didn't look gloomy but completely confused at Hermione's behaviour. She led them into the next class room locking the door and casting a silencing charm. Then she turned to Harry again.

"You've been with a girl."

Harry's mouth felt open.

"What? How do you know 'Mione?", Ron asked sounding as shocked as Harry felt.

"He looks as if he had been making out. And you aren't denying it, Harry."

He managed to close his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Hermione crossed her arms.

"Who?", she asked simply and Ron turned to look at Harry surprised.

"It's true? Why haven't you said anything before? She couldn't be that ugly", he added slightly amused.

"_Ron!_ That's hardly the reason. But, Harry, I don't understand why you haven't told us anything. I know why you wouldn't want anyone else to know, but we're your best friends - we won't tell if you don't want us to. And that ridiculous excuse that you would be doing homework…", Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh my god! You couldn't have."

"What?", he asked finally finding his voice again.

"With _her_."

Harry knew perfectly well who she was talking about, but he wasn't going to give in that easily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Hermione."

"But…", she glanced at Ron and Harry was sure that she knew exactly what would happen if they continued. "Why were you in the dungeons then?"

Harry shrugged, "There's the smallest chance of being disturbed."

"And why haven't you told us anything?", Ron asked.

"You are my best friends, but that still doesn't mean that it's any of your business whom I'm seeing."

Hermione looked almost scared at Harry, but he knew she wouldn't stop until she had found out everything she wanted - no matter what Ron would do.

"How long have you been seeing her?"

Harry thought for a second - there wasn't much he could do now to prevent them from finding out so why lying?

"About two months."

This time Hermione's mouth felt slightly open.

"But… but… Have you gone out of your mind? She's Malfoy's girlfriend."

"She… What?!", Ron looked at Hermione as she had grown two heads.

"They've never been together. People just assume that they are", Harry said trying to sound calm even though his heart was pounding in his chest - he didn't even dare to look at Ron.

"Wait a minute, are you talking about _Santos_?", Ron looked crossly between Harry and Hermione.

"Yes, Ron, but she isn't…"

"_You_ have been seeing Santos? _Slytherin's seeker_ - the reason Gryffindor lost the cup?", Ron's face was red with anger. "Did you even care about our team? Or Gryffindor?"

"Of course. How can you accuse me of…"

"Betrayal? That's exactly what this is. We've been all training so hard and _you_ just go and… and make out with Santos! Have you noticed how she and Malfoy have been going around as if Hogwarts belonged to them after the game?"

"I have and I also noticed that Malfoy hasn't said anything to you about it."

"What does this have to do with anything? Are you on his side now? Or have you been on their side all the time?", Ron took a deep breath before continuing. "You let her win!"

Harry's eyes widened.

"I didn't!", he shouted at Ron.

"Oh really? And she's just so much better than _you_ - the youngest seeker in a century?"

"I'm not a perfect seeker and you saw her fly last Saturday - she _is_ good."

"Of course you would say that about your… whatever she is."

"My girlfriend! And I'm not just saying it, the whole school thinks like that. Only you are too stupid to see it."

"I'm stupid?! You're the one who's letting a bloody Slytherin come near you. Do you plan on joining You-know-who after all?"

"Have you gone crazy?! _Me_ joining Voldemort?!"

"Ron, that was…", Hermione tried, but he didn't even seem to hear her.

"Why not? You just have to tell him all you know about Dumbledore's plans and he'll surely take you in. No more worrying about killing each other after that."

When Ron finished they just stood there breathing hard and glaring daggers at each other. Harry was so angry that he couldn't even scream - much less form any words. A minute passed like that and then Ron turned on his heals and went to the door pulling at the doorknob forcefully.

"_Hermione!_"

She broke from her trance and waved her shaking hand to unlock the door. Ron pulled it open and stormed out. Hermione looked horrified after him and then at Harry. He stared back for a while before his ability to speak returned.

"Go after him - I don't care!"

She looked hurt by his tone, but Harry really didn't care at the moment - it was _her_ fault anyway. Hermione hesitated for a moment, but then she went after Ron. And Harry let himself fall in the nearest chair burying his head in his hands. What had he done?


	30. Love vs Friendship

**A/N:** I'm not sure how much free time I'll have the next two weeks so the next chapter'll probably need longer.

And the song in the end is "It Feels So Right" by Elvis Presley.

* * *

**30.**** Love vs. Friendship**

Harry rolled the parchment with his finished Potions essay and put it in his bag together with his quill. He leaned against the tree closing his eyes. A warm wind was blowing, but he didn't feel it - he didn't feel anything but guilt. The images of the previous evening began haunting him again - Hermione's hurt eyes and Ron's anger filled expression. _Ron,_ his best friend. They hadn't had a serious fight since the begin of the Triwizard Tournament and this time was much worse. True Ron had gone too far by accusing him of changing sides, but he still had a point this time. Harry had known all along that his relationship with Elena wasn't really supposed to be. It had been pure bliss, but what future did it have? What would they do after the end of the school year? Putting aside all the childish Gryffindor - Slytherin rivalries - he had to kill Voldemort eventually and her best friend was a death eater to be - there was no chance they could continue being together once they left Hogwarts. Was it really worth sacrificing his friendship with Ron and probably with Hermione too? They had been there for him from the beginning, they had risked their lives for him several times.

Harry sighed. He felt so… lost. He had no idea what he wanted or what was the right thing to do. He had been thinking things over and over again since Hermione had left him in the empty class room. He had remained sitting there till long after curfew. When he had finally gone to Gryffindor tower there had been just a few students still learning in the common room - neither Hermione nor Ron had been among them. So he had headed directly to his dormitory. The curtains had been pulled tightly around Ron's bed and Harry had climbed quickly in his not paying any further attention. He had tossed and turned in his bed for several hours unable to fall asleep. Shortly after the sun had risen he had given up trying. He had stood up and exited the dormitory after putting his school robes back on and taking his bag. He had walked quietly through the corridors reaching the front doors without meeting anyone. The cool morning breeze had hit his face making him feel a bit better. He had gone to sit down by his favourite tree taking his Charms stuff out and starting with the latest assignment. After all he still had to study - the examiners by the N.E.W.T.s weren't going to care if he had personal problems or not. And so after Charms he had done Potions and now he wondered if he should continue with Transfiguration. The homework had successfully kept him from thinking about Elena or his friends for a while. It was already time for lunch though. Not that he was really hungry, but he realised that he hadn't eaten anything since lunch the previous day. Maybe he should go to the Great Hall - grab something and then come back or go somewhere else. Now that it wasn't so early more and more students were beginning to come outside - to study or just to enjoy the good weather - and he didn't feel like being around anyone.

Harry stood up and headed for the castle. While he walked he thought of places he could go afterwards. Outside again wasn't at all tempting. Not just because of the other students but also the bloody weather - the bright sunshine was definitely going on his nerves. He couldn't go to the library, because there was a big chance of Hermione being there and he wasn't ready to face her yet. The room of requirement seemed a good option first, however, it was only going to remind him of Elena and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stand it. The common room was out of question, but maybe his dormitory. Neville, Dean and Seamus didn't tend to stay in there during the day and he hoped Ron hadn't decided to remain in his bed or something of the sort - Hermione must have gotten him out of there a while ago. Harry entered the Great Hall and sat in the nearest empty seat on the table. He took some bread and was considering what he could take to it when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Neville", he answered dully.

Neville sat next to him filling a plate with some food immediately.

"I was so rapped in studying Herbology that I almost forgot lunch. And I am quite hungry actually", Neville said cheerfully, but when Harry's expression didn't change he became serious. "I saw Ron this morning and then later Hermione. I asked her why Ron looked even worse than the previous week", his voice turned into a whisper so that only Harry could hear him. "She told me you and he had a fight yesterday. She didn't tell me what about though."

Harry nodded his acknowledgment his eyes fixed on a can with pumpkin juice. Neville saw that he wasn't going to find out from him either and he didn't press the matter any further.

"Hermione also asked me to tell you that she'll try to speak with Ron about it."

Harry nodded grimly again - he doubted that she would be able to change Ron's mind. He started to get up to leave, but Neville put another plate with food in front of him.

"You haven't come to eat anything since lunch yesterday, Harry. I won't let you leave until you eat everything on this plate."

Harry wanted to argue, but the determination on Neville's face told him that he didn't really have a chance. So instead of leaving he decided to eat as fast as possible and only five minutes later he had finished.

"Bye, Neville", he muttered still chewing on his last bite.

Harry hurried out of the Great Hall before Neville could think of anything else to hold him there and he headed to Gryffindor tower just as quickly. He had already reached the third floor when he heard someone running behind him. He turned around and saw Elena running towards him. When she noticed that he had seen her she slowed down and then stopped before Harry. He watched her try to catch her breath completely at a loss of what to say. Had it been just twenty-four hours ago he would have probably already pulled her to him for a kiss, but unfortunately it wasn't.

"Did you run all the way from the Great Hall?", he said the first thing that had come to his tired mind.

"Almost… I decided to wait a bit before I followed you, but you've been walking really fast and I had no other choice. What's wrong with you?"

Harry looked down sighing.

"They know. Ron and Hermione… about us…"

"Oh."

"Ron doesn't speak to me and Hermione… Well, she's his girlfriend", he continued still looking at his shoes.

Elena reached to touch his shoulder, but Harry moved away slightly and she drew her hand back looking away from him.

"He thinks that I'm a traitor - that I let you win", he added.

"I'm sorry", she said quietly.

After that they remained silent, both looking away from each other. It was a tense silence - something they hadn't had for weeks, but Harry didn't felt like caring about that. He was too occupied with feeling guilty.

"We still have to write the DADA essay, but I can do it alone. You obviously aren't in the right state for it so…", she started after a while.

"No", he said looking up at her - still indifferently though. "I'll do my part."

Elena bit her lip, turning her face to him without showing any emotion.

"In an hour in the library?"

He nodded.

"Well, then…", she swallowed. "Bye!"

Harry watched her walk away until she turned at the next corner and after that he headed slowly to Gryffindor tower - having no idea how he felt about her or his two best friends at the moment.

* * *

And so about an hour later Harry was on his way to the library. It was strange, but he kind of didn't really want to be around Elena right now. Just the day before there hadn't been much he wouldn't have done to be able to spend some time with her. However, Ron's words had really gotten to him. Even the knowledge that he hadn't let Elena win at all didn't stop him from feeling guilty. He felt like a traitor. And he wondered if there was even the slightest chance of making up with Ron as long as he was together with Elena. What was he going to do if he really had to chose between her and his best friends?

Harry entered the library. He was a bit early, but what did it matter? Maybe he could even start the essay before Elena came. He had almost reached their table when he heard voices on the other side of the bookcase he was passing.

"…than anyone else, don't you?"

"Not much more than you do."

Harry stopped dead - it was Hermione and Elena.

"I don't."

"You think you know better than most people. Isn't that the same?"

"I _don't _think that I'm better than anyone."

"Yeah, right. So what do you want from me?"

"Break up with Harry", Hermione answered bluntly.

Harry had to lean on the bookcase in order not to fall over. Considering that Elena didn't speak immediately she had to be just as shocked as he was.

"Why?"

"Ron and Harry had a fight yesterday - because of _you_. I tried to talk with Ron this morning, but I don't think he'll try to do anything about Harry as long as he and you are together."

"That's ridiculous."

"You're destroying his friendship with Ron."

"Why is it my fault Weasley can't get over himself? It's not like that's the first time they don't speak because of him."

"That's none of your business."

"Isn't it? Did you see Harry at lunch? No, wait. You didn't, because you weren't there - probably somewhere off with your _precious_ boyfriend. But for your information: he looked miserable"

"As if you would really care about him", Hermione retorted her voice wavered though.

"Of course I do", she answered simply.

"You… You're just playing with him."

"And he's so stupid to fall for it?"

"I never said he was stupid. Stop twisting my words."

"You didn't directly. But you indicated that he isn't capable of realising when someone's trying to use him."

"Normally he is. However, he is a teenage boy after all and he may be brilliant at fighting dark wizards, but he still doesn't know much about girls."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, please. It would be a great plan to seduce Harry and then hand him over to Voldemort."

"Probably, but I don't think _Voldemort_ would really consider something like that - too much of an effort to make something, he considers silly, work. And if he did, he surely wouldn't chose a Slytherin girl. More likely a sweet, innocent Gryffindor he'll think Harry could fall for."

"You've spend some time considering such possibilities, haven't you?"

"_No_. It's just plainly obvious. Who would ever think Harry could fall for me?"

"Exactly. And if you really cared about him, you would know that your relationship won't do him any good."

"Why don't you go and talk with Harry about that?"

Elena's question was followed by silence and Harry wished he could see them.

"If he wants to break up with me, I won't stop him, but I'm surely not going to put an end to our relationship", Elena said after a while. "Harry should be here any moment - you better leave", she added.

Harry barely registered the movement on the other side when Hermione went away. His mind kept repeating Elena's words _'If he wants to break up with me'_. He _had_ thought about it just a short while ago, but hearing her say it made it sound so… wrong. He didn't want their relationship to be over - never.

After he had come to his senses again Harry walked to their table. Elena was already sitting there, glaring at the book in front of her.

"Hi!", he said sitting down.

"Hi", she retorted not moving at all.

"Are you OK?", he asked carefully, not sure if he should admit that he had heard her conversation with Hermione.

She looked at him smiling although her eyes remained somehow troubled.

"I'm just not too keen on DADA right now, but it doesn't matter. Let's just do the bloody homework", she said closing the book.

They started writing, but Harry kept glancing at Elena. She didn't look at him once and she seemed so distant all the time. He was painfully reminded of the times they had had a fight. Obviously the talk with Hermione had affected her more than he had first assumed. He himself couldn't believe Hermione could do something like that behind his back. Ask Elena to break up with him without even trying to find out more about their relationship. He hoped she knew that he had nothing to do with Hermione's actions. But he wondered also why Elena was letting it get to her. And why on earth was she letting _Hermione_ of all people bother her so much?

After a while, however, he came to the conclusion that it wasn't Hermione it was him. Elena probably thought he would really want to break up with her because of his friends. And he hadn't done anything so far to assure her that he wouldn't. Quite on the contrary - he had pushed her away earlier. He had to make up for that. When they had finished writing Harry finally decided what to do.

"Ellie?"

She looked at him while putting her things into her bag.

"I still have to do Transfiguration and… can I come with you to your room to do it?"

"Wouldn't you rather…"

"There's nowhere I would rather be right now", he said softly.

She smiled at him and this time it was a real smile. A warm feeling spread all over his body and he smiled back.

"Sure."

Elena looked around and then she pulled him behind the nearest bookcase.

"But I don't think you'll be doing Transfiguration. You need some sleep, love."

"I don't", he protested, but Elena just continued to smile.

"How much did you sleep last night?", she asked caressing his cheek.

"Ahm…", Harry looked down. "I'm not sure."

Elena moved her hand pulling his head so that she could look into his eyes. Then she tiptoed kissing his lips lightly.

"Let me take care of you, Harry. I can't stand it when you're feeling so bad."

He closed his eyes leaning his forehead against hers, nodding slightly. A few seconds later he opened them again though.

"What will happen with us when school ends?"

Elena didn't answer for a while startled at the sudden question.

"We… We'll stay together and…"

"But what about…"

She shook her head forcefully.

"We will. Unless you don't want to be with me anymore", she added looking at him uncertainly.

"Of course I want, Ellie."

Elena smiled again and kissed him before pulling completely away.

"Come then. The invisibility cloak?"

"It's in my bag."

* * *

Harry turned to the side. He could faintly sense sheets moving with him. His clouded mind cleared a bit. He must be in his bed, but it didn't feel like his bed at all. However, wherever he was he didn't mind staying there forever. It was very comfortable and warm and most importantly it smelled like Elena. He buried his head in the softness beneath it. It was definitely a pillow not his though. Then he remembered it was Elena's pillow and that he was lying in her bed. Harry opened his eyes at the realisation. There was only a faint light coming from somewhere on the other side of the room. He sat up slowly, stretching. He could only see the blurred outlines of the few candles on the table where Elena was sitting. He took his glasses and the room came to focus although it was still quite dark. He felt much better than before. Elena had been right to make him sleep after they had come to her room. She had given him a cup of hot chocolate and then she had lain next to him till he had fallen asleep. He wondered how long he had been asleep while he got out of the bed. He didn't bother putting his jeans back on and he went to her letting himself fall on the couch next to her. Elena put away the parchment she had been writing and smiled at Harry.

"Had a nice sleep?"

"Mhm", he took her braid turning it around his hand. "You slipped me some sleeping potion, didn't you?"

She looked apologetically at him.

"I just wanted you to have some peaceful sleep and it was supposed to work only for a couple of hours."

"Not that it was a bad idea, but you could have told me."

"Next time I will."

He grinned slightly.

"Anyway, what are you doing?"

"I was writing a list of what you should include in your Transfiguration essay. Now you just have to put the things together into sensible sentences."

"You shouldn't have."

She shrugged.

"I was bored and I also looked over the two essays you did this morning. Charms is quite fine - just some spelling mistakes and it gets a bit strange towards the end. You did it first didn't you?", he nodded. "I thought so. As for Potions…", she bit her lip before continuing. "You would have probably gotten a 'T' for it."

She handed him the parchment and Harry's eyes widened slightly at the amount of green ink she had used to correct it.

"I don't think Snape has ever scribbled so much on my homework."

"That's 'cause I wrote how you should have written it - Snape just crosses things out."

"Well, I've never been good in Potions to begin with."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. You are fine when you're concentrated… and Snape isn't around."

"If you say so."

Harry pulled her to him burring his head in the crook of her neck.

"Thanks", he whispered.

"No problem, I know most of it by memory anyway."

He pressed her closer to him.

"Still."

She ran a hand through his hair.

"How late is it by the way?", he asked after a while of just enjoying holding her in his arms.

"About half past eight."

"So dinner's already over."

"Are you hungry?"

"A bit."

Elena turned around in his arms and leaned towards the table. Harry saw a half full plate he hadn't noticed before. She took some of the spaghetti with the spoon and brought it to his mouth. He made a grimace.

"I _am_ capable of eating by myself."

"Well, then", she grinned and Harry reached to take the spoon from her, but Elena put it into her mouth.

He frowned slightly and she shrugged.

"What? It's _my_ dinner."

"Never heard of sharing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a Slytherin."

He rolled his eyes.

"But you don't mind sharing… your bed with me for example."

"That's different."

She grinned playfully at him taking another full spoon from the spaghetti and slipped it into her mouth demonstratively.

"How so?"

"I like having you in my bed", she answered after swallowing.

She dipped the spoon in the food again and brought to her mouth, but then she changed her mind and moved it to Harry's. He looked at it for a moment before he opened his mouth allowing her to feed him. Then, however, he took the spoon from her hand and put it in the table. He swallowed quickly - the spaghetti were delicious as everything Pimki did, but there was still something that tasted better. He pulled Elena closer to him once again and kissed her.

* * *

A couple of hours later Harry was walking towards Gryffindor tower under the invisibility cloak. He was in a much better mood than he had been in the morning or the night before. He would have preferred to stay with Elena the whole night, but he didn't want people to start gossiping again why he hadn't spend the night in his bed. Just because now Ron and Hermione knew about them didn't mean that he and Elena were ready to make their relationship public. After all everybody else still thought that she was together with Malfoy and he also assumed that the last game still wasn't long ago.

When Harry went through the portrait hole he saw that all the others had already gone to bed - all except Ron and Hermione. They were sitting at a table in front of the fireplace writing. After seeing them he turned his gaze to the staircase determined to ignore them.

"Already back?", Hermione asked.

Harry, who had almost crossed the common room by then, turned around. He cast a silencing charm on the stairs before he walked to her.

"How could you ask Elena to break up with me?"

"She told you then?", Hermione asked looking up.

"No, she didn't - not a word. But I was there, Hermione, I heard almost everything."

Fear crossed her face for a moment.

"I'm just worried about you, Harry."

"That doesn't give you the right to do such things behind my back."

"But…"

"No. Can't you understand I feel better with her than I have felt in years."

"Maybe, but you'll feel worse in the end."

"And you want it to be as soon as possible?"

"I want it to end before it's too late. She's dangerous, Harry."

"You don't know her at all."

"She's friends with Malfoy."

"So what? You just don't like it that she seems to know more than you do."

"That's not true."

"Oh, really? You've always hated it when someone knew better than you."

Hermione gaped at him.

"So Malfoy's whore is better than Hermione?"

Before Ron could finish Harry had already pointed his wand at him - a few sparks escaping from the tip.

"If you call her that again, you'll regret it for the rest of your life", Harry's eyes flashed dangerously. "You're a very bad loser, Ron."

"Am I? Well, obviously you don't care that we lost because of _you_. What did she do to you to let her win? It must have been quite amazing to make you forget your loyalty to Gryffindor. She's surely good with all the practice with Malfoy and who knows…"

A red light came from Harry's wand and hit Ron square in the chest, throwing him to the other side of the room.

"Harry!", Hermione screamed.

"He should be glad I didn't use anything bad."

"Harry, don't you see what this girl is doing to you?"

"She? What has she ever done to you or any of us? You and Ron are acting crazy. You know Ron would have reacted far worse if someone called _you_ such things", with that he left the tower and walked back to the dungeons.

When he entered Elena's room she was already in bed and the room was almost completely dark. That didn't bother him though since he knew it quite good by now. He went to the bed stopping to look at the faint outlines of her body for a moment. When his breathing had finally turned to normal he took off his robes and the glasses. He slipped under the covers snuggling to her. He buried his head in her hair inhaling her scent deeply and the anger began to fade away.

"Harry", she said a bit sleepily turning around to face him. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Can I stay here?"

"Of course."

He turned to lie on his back relaxing.

"Always", she added and moved to kiss his lips softly before putting her head on his chest. "Night, love."

Harry ran one of his hands through her hair before he put his arms around her again.

"Good night."

She snuggled even closer to him taking one of his hands from around her and entangled their fingers together. Shortly after that he felt Elena's breath even and he knew she had fallen asleep again. Harry didn't expect to fall asleep very quickly - he had so much on his mind. Even if her presence was really claming him she wasn't exactly a sleeping potion. No matter how much he loved the feeling of her warm body on his chest and their fingers were still entangled… A couple of minutes later he was fast asleep too.

* * *

Harry was sitting in Elena's room studying Herbology - the only subject she couldn't help him with since she wasn't taking it. Earlier that day he had gone shortly to his dormitory to take a couple of things and then he had returned directly to her room. He had absolutely no desire to even see Ron or Hermione at the moment. Elena had gone to spend some time with the other Slytherins in their common room and Harry looked around bored. He had been learning for two hours already and his concentration was almost zero - he needed to do something else for a while. A shame Elena wasn't there. For a moment Harry considered sneaking into the Slytherin common room under his invisibility cloak, but dismissed the thought almost immediately. He wasn't just bored with Herbology, but he also didn't really feel like doing anything else either - except one thing which wasn't quite possible at the moment.

Harry put the book he was reading on the table, on top of his other Herbology things. He took a remote from under a piece of parchment and pressed the power button. The CD player started to play and he decided that listening to a bit of music was a good distraction since the only thing he had to do was to press the buttons of the remote. He listened to the beginning of every song and if he liked it he heard the whole song. One he liked in particular he listened to it two times and remembered the number. When he had gone through the CDs in the player he stood up and went to it. He skimmed through the CDs which were on the shelf next to it picking a couple that seemed interesting. He had just opened the player to put one of them inside when he heard Elena coming in.

"What are you doing?", she asked and he heard a muffled thud as she let her bag fall on the ground.

Harry closed the CD player before turning to face her, she was just taking her school robes off leaving her in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Listening to a couple of songs. Do you mind?"

Elena stretched a bit. "Not at all", she retorted coming to stand beside him. "Found something you like?"

"Mmm. You have a lot of different music."

"I could never decide what I like the most. It really depends on my mood - sometimes a can't stop listening to something and then all of a sudden I can't stand it and then I love it again", she grinned sheepishly.

Harry smiled at her, "Do you want to dance with me?"

"Dance?", she looked at him surprised. "Now?"

He nodded.

"I had no idea you liked dancing."

"Only if it's with the right girl", he said still smiling. "So?"

"Sure."

Harry started a song and then put his arms around her waist.

_**Step in these arms, where you belong**_

Elena giggled a bit while she moved his hands to rest on her bum and then put her arms around his neck. They began to move slowly.

_**It feels so right, so right  
How can it be wrong?**_

"You have to sway your hips at least a bit, you know", she told him. "like this", she added doing it herself. He grinned slightly while trying to follow her movements.

_**There's something in the way you kiss  
That makes me want to hold you tight  
I know that nothing can't be wrong  
that feels so right.**_

"Is this a random song or did you chose it on purpose?"

"Completely on purpose", he whispered in her ear.

_**Each time we touch, you thrill me so  
It means so much, so much  
I can't let you go**_

He trailed light kisses down her neck and she tilted her head to the side allowing him better access. One of her hands went in his hair and he pressed her closer to him.

_**This isn't only for tonight  
We're gonna love our whole life long  
'Cause baby, if it feels so right  
How can it be wrong?**_

Harry started kissing her neck more hungrily and then up to her chin. He pulled away slightly to look into Elena's eyes for a moment. He saw the same passion he felt in them before both their eyes fluttered closed and his mouth closed on hers. They kissed deeply, still moving slowly to the music.

_**This isn't only for tonight  
We're gonna love our whole life long  
'Cause baby, if it feels so right  
How can it be wrong?**_


	31. A Reconciliation And A Fight

**A/N:** I really didn't mean to update so soon, but I started writing and couldn't stop. After I read this chapter a couple of times it seemed kind of… rushed maybe. I have no idea how to make differently though so I decided to just post it anyway.

And thank you for _all_ the reviews - they make wish I could write all the time and I absolutely hated writing during school.

* * *

**31.**** A Reconciliation And A Fight**

The next couple of days Harry stayed mostly in Elena's room when he didn't have any classes. They studied together and he also slept in her bed. First he had thought of sneaking back to Gryffindor tower every night. Already on Sunday, however, Pimki had heard him and Elena discussing how bad it could get if he didn't sleep in his bed repeatedly. And she had suggested to sneak into his dormitory to pull the curtains of his bed close and then open them in the morning. Harry had considered it shortly and agreed to try it that night - it had worked. They continued doing it like that the following nights and from then on he couldn't understand at all how anyone could think house elves weren't as intelligent as wizards.

Harry had gone to Gryffindor tower only a few times to take some clothes and his school stuff. He had tried to avoid Ron or Hermione at all costs, because he had no desire to see any of them - especially after their last fight. He wasn't sure if he wanted to ever talk with Ron again, as for Hermione he still hadn't forgiven her for asking Elena to break up with him. He didn't want to imagine what he would have done if Elena had actually decided to do it. He was convinced that she would have, had Hermione managed to persuade her that it was necessary for his wellbeing. As much as Hermione didn't want to see it, he knew that Elena cared deeply for him - just like he cared for her. So when Hermione had tried to talk with him after Transfiguration on Monday, he had simply ignored her and walked away. He didn't want to hear that he should break up with Elena again. Hermione hadn't tried to confront him after that, but he didn't care. He didn't need them, not if they were determined to stay between him and Elena. She was more than enough for him to be happy. The only thing that he _really_ wanted to change at the moment was the fact that he and Elena didn't have all their classes together. And as the other students started gossiping about the background behind his fight with Ron and Hermione, he couldn't care less. They were hardly going to find out the true reason anyway.

Normally Harry sat with Neville during classes and when he went to the Great Hall for the meals, but at lunch on Tuesday he was alone. And he almost choked on a piece of grilled chicken when a girl sat gracefully across of him and started to talking to him.

"Hi! My name is Romilda Vane."

"H-hi."

She smiled brightly, battling her eyelashes at him in a way that was probably supposed to be seductive, but Harry just stared at her bewildered.

"So, did you have a nice day so far?"

"Uhm… I had Potions."

"Oh! Now I can totally understand why you're not in a good mood. Snape's never really nice to us Gryffindors, is he?"

He shook his head and she leaned a bit forward making him lean backwards even though there was still a lot of space between them.

"Well, I hope you have something more pleasant in the afternoon and if not I could always…"

"Actually I do have a nice subject after lunch", he interrupted her not wanting to even think about what she was going to suggest. "And now that you mentioned it, I promised Neville to meet him outside - we wanted to talk with Professor Sprout before class."

With that he grabbed his school bag and left the Great Hall trying his hardest not to run.

* * *

On Wednesday evening Harry and Elena were sitting in her room doing homework. Cleo had made herself comfortable on Harry's lap and he was stroking her back absently while writing his Charms essay. Her soft purring helped him concentrate on the essay and almost forget his 'best friends'. What he couldn't ignore that easily, however, was the feeling of Elena staring at him. He had felt her eyes on him for a while now and when he couldn't stand it anymore he looked up.

"What?"

Elena took a deep breath.

"Why don't you try to talk with your friends? I don't pretend to know them better than you do, but if _you_ don't do anything who knows when you'll start talking again."

"It's their fault not mine."

She sighed.

"Do you remember how you reacted when I told you about my family?"

"I haven't told them that much", he answered looking away.

"Still, Harry, I know you miss them."

"Maybe."

"Promise me you'll try to talk to them."

"Ellie…"

"_Promise_."

"Fine. I'll talk with Hermione. If she gets over it, it will be much easier to persuade Ron. When do you want me to do it?"

"Whenever you feel like it, but in the next couple of days, OK?"

He nodded. Elena smiled putting her arms around his shoulders from behind. Then she stroked Cleo behind the ears. The cat looked up and Harry thought that if she could, she would have rolled her eyes before she left his lap disappearing from their view. Cleo still managed to freak him out sometimes and he wasn't sure if she wasn't even smarter than Crookshanks. However, when Elena started kissing his neck, all thoughts about cats disappeared from his mind.

"Won't we finish this first?", he asked making no attempt to pull away.

"We'll have enough time later", she breathed in his ear one of her hands slipping under his shirt, caressing his chest.

"So we can stop when you say it, but not when I do?"

"That's because I'm the expert when it comes to learning."

It was becoming more and more difficult for Harry to concentrate when she continued her teasing, but he didn't want to let her win… too easily.

"What if your plan doesn't work for me?"

"Well, you already have a couple of O.W.L.s, you don't really need the N.E.W.T.s."

"If I fail them, it'll be you fault", he told her turning his head to the side.

Elena tilted her head to look at him, grinning.

"'Course", she whispered before their lips met.

Harry put his arms around her, pulling her to sit on his lap. He could never deny her anything and surely not a good snog or whatever it may turn into.

* * *

On the next day Harry went to the library during dinner. He and Elena had already eaten in her room and he had decided that he needed a walk. Elena had suggested he could return some of the books they didn't need anymore and she had also asked him to take some Artimancy book for her. So he walked between the bookcases searching for it, but instead he saw Hermione sitting on her favourite table. She was alone and absorbed with the book she was reading so that she didn't notice him. Harry stood still, considering if he should go to her. He had promised Elena to talk with Hermione, but he still had a couple of days to do it. He wasn't sure though if he would have another opportunity to meet her without Ron being present. And he was surely not going to be the first to talk to him - no way.

Harry went to Hermione and sat in the chair next to her. She looked up at the noise and was quite surprised to see _him_ there.

"Can we talk?", he asked quietly.

She didn't need to think twice.

"Of course."

They both stood up and he waited for her to collect her stuff. They walked out of the library and went into an empty classroom. After Harry cast the protecting spells he turned to her, but he didn't know what to say. Hermione was the first to speak.

"You won't give her up, will you?"

"No, I won't. And I don't understand what you have against her. You don't care about quidditch like Ron does."

"Of course I don't care about it. But I think that she could be very dangerous, Harry. I'm afraid she'll harm you."

"It's true that Elena _can_ cause much more trouble than Malfoy ever has, but I know she wouldn't."

Hermione looked surprised that he had agreed with her.

"But how can you be so sure that she wouldn't?"

"I trust her. Is that the only reason you think I shouldn't be with her?"

"Mostly. If you can live with her beating you at quidditch I'm surely not going to persuade you otherwise. However, I do admit that she hasn't done anything to us like Malfoy has, but aren't they close? Even if they're not together like you said. And his father - not to mention his aunt - they're both of Voldemort's most faithful death eaters. Is it really such a good idea to be around Malfoy's friend?"

"Best friend", he corrected her calmly and she looked at him incredulously.

He smiled slightly surprised that he didn't feel even a bit angry. He still didn't like that she had asked Elena to break up with him behind his back, but Hermione was a very reasonable person. If he managed to convince her that Elena wasn't a threat, he was sure they could work everything out.

"Look, Hermione, I've been through all of this several times myself. Do you really think I decided to be with her just like that? We've been partners since October and friends since the begin of January. We've spend a lot of time together - not only while doing DADA, but also in the room of requirement…"

"So that's the real reason you decided to go to the room?", Hermione interrupted him and Harry blushed slightly.

"Yes, but we did study Potions - just not all the time."

"And the time you said you had fallen asleep in there while reading a book - you had actually been with her?"

"I was and I'm really sorry that I lied to you then, but I had no idea how to tell you about Elena. At that time we weren't exactly together. We both tried to ignore that we felt more for each other for quite a while. The previous day we had spend the afternoon in Hogsmead together and then she suggested that we could watch a movie after dinner and that night was the first time we kissed for real and I had no idea what would become of our relationship. And then we had this stupid fight and when we had finally sorted everything out the final game was really near - it would have been insane to announce that we were together just before it. After it, however, Ron started to act as if Elena was the most terrible thing in the world and I was really afraid of telling him about me and her, but then you found out and… you know the rest."

Harry had been talking quite fast - especially around the part about their first kiss - and he wondered if she had understood everything since she didn't say anything for a while. But Hermione was used to catching everything - even things the other person hadn't actually said, so…

"_Watch a movie!?_", yes, she had definitely gotten everything.

"Yeah… We've watched some movies."

Hermione looked at him as if he had gotten crazy.

"How?"

"With a TV and DVD player."

"But muggle…"

"I know, but Elena's work. They have some charm on them - I don't know what though."

"She… She has a TV and a DVD player?"

"Also a CD player and a lot of CDs and DVDs."

"But she's a Slytherin and Malfoy's friend…"

"I know. That was what bothered me the most in the beginning. But she _is_ a Slytherin pureblood who doesn't hate muggles the slightest. She's kind of fascinated with them but not like Mr Weasley. Because she knows a lot about the muggle world - I would even say that she could compete with any muggle-born or even muggles."

She stared at him unbelievingly.

"I am serious, Hermione. She's been to muggle school before Hogwarts and she told me that her other best friend is a muggle girl. For Merlin's sake, she likes _football_ more than quidditch."

"Football?"

He nodded. Hermione went to sit on one of the chairs thinking about everything he had told her.

"What about Malfoy?", she asked after a couple of minutes.

"I'm still not quite sure about him. However, according to Elena he doesn't really hate muggles either", Hermione raised her eyebrows at him and he shrugged. "She said that he had to keep appearances. You know, because of his parents and now Voldemort too."

"He's very good at it then", she said her voice full with sarcasm.

"Obviously, but if you think about it, he could get not only himself but also his family in great danger if Voldemort found out he didn't support their views."

"Voldemort wouldn't kill Belatrix and Luci…"

"I didn't mean to include _her_. And Voldemort blames Malfoy for the broken prophecy - I don't think that he has forgiven him yet. As for _Belatrix_", he took a deep breath before he continued, "you know how she treats family members who _don't_ support her Master."

"You don't really think she could kill Draco?"

"I think she's capable of everything. I don't mean to defend Malfoy - by no means. I still don't like him and I think he dislikes us even if he doesn't hate muggles. But you said yourself that he had been somehow different this year - except of the time me and Elena had a fight."

"The time you had a fight?"

He nodded looking away and for once she didn't press him to tell her more. They remained silent for some time again.

"Harry, but you did agree with me that she's dangerous."

"Well, she's very powerful and smart and that combined with the fact that she's a Slytherin - it's nothing you could take lightly. I'm perfectly aware that if she wanted, she could destroy me without the slightest problem, but she doesn't have a reason to do it."

Hermione sighed.

"I'm still not sure about it, Harry…"

"Why not? I assure you that her joining Voldemort is just as likely as _me_ doing it. Please, Hermione, give her a chance. I really love her and I don't want to have to chose between you and her."

"You _love_ her?", she asked quietly sounding almost defeated.

"With all my heart."

"You're in love with Malfoy's best friend", she muttered more to herself than to Harry.

"Do you think I did it on purpose?"

"Probably not", she smiled faintly. "But you have to admit that if Rush hadn't made you partners you would have never come to the idea of even liking her."

"No and it would have been a shame."

"And still. It's sounds so impossible."

"If you think of her as Malfoy's friend and Slytherin's seeker and so on it is, but if you knew that she's…", Harry stopped realising what he was about to say.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"If it was nothing you would have told me. What could possibly make her a reasonable choice for you?"

He hesitated, but Hermione was going to found out sooner or later any way so he decided to tell her.

"She's my mum's goddaughter."

"She's what!?"

"My mum's goddaughter."

Hermione stared at him mouth hanging open.

"Are you sure?", she asked after some of the shock had faded away.

"Yes. Her mother and mine were best friends. Elena showed me some pictures of herself and my mum and I have one of her mother on my parents' wedding."

Hermione felt silent for the longest time so far and Harry waited for her to say something in apprehension. He wondered if she could think of something else which spoke against his relationship with Elena. If she couldn't then probably no one could.

"_So_", she said finally with determination in her eyes. "What are we going to do about Ron?"

Harry couldn't help but smile brightly at her.

* * *

After his conversation with Hermione Harry returned to Elena's room immediately. He found her curled on the couch reading a book, but he didn't care what it was when he snatched it from her hands throwing it on the table. Elena glared at him, but Harry just continued to smile. He hadn't stop since talking with Hermione and it was then that he realised how much it really meant for him that she was accepting Elena as his girlfriend. He sat down next to Elena and started telling her about Hermione before she could ask him anything. Her expression turned from annoyance into one of concentration, while she tried to keep up with his happy babbling, and finally a smile played across her lips.

"Hermione suggest to give Ron more time to calm down and then she'll try to talk with him again. I think it would be the best too."

Elena nodded.

"And I suppose you and Granger'll continue to act as if you weren't talking till then?"

"Yeah, we're still officially not talking to each other. It's annoying though. And I can't believe that they both have such problems getting on terms with our relationship while Malfoy just accepted it as if it was nothing special."

Harry looked at her obviously awaiting an explanation for Malfoy's strange behaviour and she chuckled.

"To be honest I'm quite surprised too. Although I know that Draco doesn't care about blood purity, I always thought he didn't like _you_ at all. And it's been almost as if he was encouraging me to get together with you."

"Why would Malfoy want you to be with me?"

"Well, I don't kn…", Elena's eyes widened. "I'll kill him!", she exclaimed standing up. "I can't believe I didn't notice."

"What?"

"He's so going to regret…"

"_Ellie!_"

She looked down at Harry almost surprised to see him there.

"What are you talking about?"

"I… I…", she smiled sheepishly at him. "I'll tell you later. I just need to clear it with Draco first. OK?"

Before Harry could even nod she had already given him a peck on the lips and disappeared through the door to the Slytherin common room.

* * *

Elena didn't return for a long time and when she did, she hadn't been in the best mood so Harry had come to the conclusion that it would be better not to ask her about Malfoy for the time being. They had gone to bed without much talking shortly after. Therefore he decided to do it on the next morning while they ate breakfast. Actually it was while he ate since Elena just pushed the food around her plate lost in thought.

"I'll tell you after classes, we don't have enough time now", she answered looking at him. "Are you finished with your breakfast?"

Harry nodded and they stood up to get their school things. When they exited Elena's room, Harry put the invisibility cloak on and followed her slowly. They both had classes in the upper floors and were going to part later. None of them spoke though while they walked through the dungeons and Harry realised that they had barely talked since she had returned, not to mention that she hadn't even kissed him 'good night'. He wondered what had happened between her and Malfoy, but it must have been bad if she acted like that. He was so lost in thought that he almost bumped into the Slytherin who was standing in their way with crossed arms, smirking. Elena glared at him.

"Hello, _Elena_", he greeted her.

"Harper", she answered through gritted teeth and walked pass him.

"I heard you and Malfoy had a fight yesterday", he said lazily going after her.

"So? It's none of your business."

"Of course it is. Come, you know I can 'treat' you much better than the ferret."

Elena stopped her eyes flashing dangerously.

"I don't give a damn about what you have to say and if you call Draco that again you won't be able to leave the hospital wing for at least a week. We already made up anyway", she added starting to walk again.

"Sure you did and that's why you're all alone, isn't?"

Before she could retort anything though the git did something that made Harry's blood boil: he dared to put his hand on Elena's bum. She reached for her wand, but Harry who had his already in his hand was much faster. He sent Harper flying across the corridor and he hit the opposite wall sliding down to the ground. Elena turned on her heals.

"_Harry!_"

"What?"

She reached towards the place his voice was coming from and successfully pulled the invisibility cloak off of him.

"I could have gotten rid of him on my own. I _wanted_ to do it myself."

"He touched you and I won't have anyone touching you like that. You're _mine_", he said angrily.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest raising an eyebrow at him. Harry needed a couple of seconds to realise why she was looking at him like that.

"I… I didn't mean… you… I", he stuttered.

Elena pulled him by the sleeve dragging him away from the unconscious Harper. They walked for a while before she stopped and he stared at her almost in fear of her reaction.

"I know what you meant or at least I think so", she said calmly and Harry let out a breath in relieve. "And it's not like I want anybody - except of you - touching me like that, but I hope you won't turn into a jealous and overly protective git."

"I won't, I swear."

"Good", she smiled for the first time since she had left him the previous evening and put her arms around his neck. "Because then I'll have to hex you - _badly_", she said before kissing his lips lightly. "_And_ I'll keep the right to hex every girl who tries to come too near you."

Harry nodded eagerly also smiling now. Then he leaned capturing her lips with his in a searing kiss.


	32. Plans

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for not updating for, well, a month though I can't quite believe it's been that long. I've been really stressed out with the end term exams and I could hardly concentrate on anything else. This chapter needed quite a lot of thinking. I came up with the idea of Elena's powers years ago though unfortunately not with how she was going to tell Harry about them. I've never imagined how hard it would be to actually write it, but I hope it' OK.

Next update'll be in a couple of days now that the holidays _finally_ started.

* * *

**32.**** Plans**

The next couple of hours all Harry could think about was Elena and what was going on between her and Malfoy. He hardly listened to what the teachers were saying, but he reckoned that it didn't really matter since they were only doing revisions anyway. He wondered what had happened in the Slytherin common room after Elena had left him the previous evening. It must have been bad if that Harper had assumed that she and Malfoy were over. Fortunately, she had said that she would tell him and he couldn't wait. He had a feeling that it was about something important and he was determined to make her tell him as much as possible.

At lunch Neville managed to make him forget about Elena for a while though. They sat together at the Gryffindor table eating while he explained to Harry what Professor Sprout had told him about the Herbology exam. Since Neville was by far her favourite student she had told him quite a lot of things she wouldn't have said in front of the whole class. Harry listened carefully trying to remember everything. No matter how much he joked with Elena about the N.E.W.T.s he really wanted to pass them as well as he could. Loud giggles made Harry glance at the source, but he looked down at his plate not a second later. It was that girl again. She was sitting with a couple of other girls not far away from him and Neville. She had been looking directly at him while whispering to her friends who on their side were giggling all the time. Harry wished he could just disappear. He heard Neville chuckle quietly and he turned back to him. The glare only made Neville's grin brighter.

"I take it you won't go with _her_ to the seventh year dance?", he whispered to Harry.

"Have you gone crazy?!", he hissed back.

"Calm down, Harry. I know you wouldn't though I think she wants to go out with you. I've seen her watching you a lot lately."

"I know, it's really unnerving."

"I can imagine. Have you asked somebody already?", he asked still very quite.

"No. To be honest I haven't been thinking about the dance much with the quidditch cup and the N.E.W.T.s."

Neville only nodded since he was drinking from his pumpkin juice.

"Have you?"

He could swear that Neville's face had gotten a bit red and he held the glass a bit too long in Harry's opinion before he put it back on the table.

"Hannah."

"Abbott?"

He nodded again definitely blushing now and Harry smiled.

"You like her?"

"A lot actually. I… I…"

"I'm sure you'll be great together."

Neville smiled thankfully at him also looking a bit more confident.

"I hope so. But, Harry, no one else knows and…"

"I won't tell anyone", Harry assured him and they finished the rest of their lunch in silence.

* * *

After his last class Harry hurried down to the dungeons. He went into Elena's room, but she wasn't there yet so he put away his bag and school robe and sat on the couch to wait for her. A minute later though he stood up and started pacing. He was really curious to find out what had happened the previous night. The minutes passed and still no sign of her. What on earth was taking her so long?!

Just when he had decided to track her down with the Mauderer's map the door leading to the Slytherin common room opened and Elena walked in slowly. Harry stopped and watched her throw away her bag and sit down on the couch. Then she finally looked at him her face blank.

"Sit down", she told him instead of a greeting.

He obeyed though slightly confused at her behaviour. After they had parted in the morning she had been a lot more cheerful, but it hadn't lasted obviously. He watched he for some time while she stared at the empty fire place. She didn't seem be starting to talk any time soon and he decided to take the initiative.

"What's going on between you and Malfoy?"

She sighed.

"Well, we obviously had a fight, but _w__e_ are still talking", she smirked slightly at him. "And I made the stupid mistake to go into the Slytherin common room upset so that everybody noticed that something was wrong. You have a bad influence on me - I'm starting to act without thinking."

He frowned.

"I _do_ think."

"Yeah, but after you've acted. Anyway we went to his room to 'talk' and in the end we agreed that it would be best if we acted as if nothing had happened though I'm still angry at him. I'll think of something to make him suffer, but that will have to wait - we have more important issues to take care of."

So he had been right. There was something more, something important. He wondered if he would be able to make her tell him what it was in the course of the evening. For a start, however, he decided to ask the more obvious questions.

"And about what exactly was this fight if I may ask."

"Of course you can. Especially since it was you who brought it up."

Harry took in her expression - she didn't seem angry at _him_ for it.

"Well?"

"I realised that Draco has been wanting to see us together since we became partners and I told him that you were really nice. When I got the idea of spending the day with you in the room of requirement he didn't stop telling me how crazy it was to get so near to you. I then thought that he really didn't like it, because he didn't like you, but in reality he had been happy that I did it. He knows how I love to do things someone tells me not to so in order to make do what he wanted me to do he said that he didn't want me to do it… if that makes sense to you. It's just… he's been pretty much manipulating me into falling in love with you. He was talking about it all the time - in order to get it into my mind. If he had really wanted to stop me he could have actually done something or at least told my mum. He said that I would fall in love with you so often that after a while I started to believe it. Not that I wouldn't have fallen for you if he hadn't, but it would have taken me so much longer for to realise it. I was completely convinced that we could never fall in love. Become friends, yes, I actually wished that we would, but being in _love_… it's a completely different thing", she stopped for a moment and a small smile appeared on her face. "Not that I'm complaining. I never thought that just being your girlfriend - or anyone else's for that matter - could make me so happy, but it does. That's the only reason why I didn't curse Draco, but I still hate being manipulated."

Harry stared at her for a moment before he said the first sentence his mind could form, which was - as it sometimes happens - pretty stupid.

"But you can be very manipulative yourself."

"And your point is?", she asked a slight frown forming on her face.

Harry, after coming to his senses, didn't even considered continuing. He knew there was more and starting an argument wasn't the best way to get everything out of her. If anything he had learned that from their last fight. He shook his head.

"Forget it. However, what I still don't understand is why Malfoy would want us together."

She bit her lip looking at the fire place again.

"So that I would want to… help you."

"Help me?"

"With Voldemort."

"Voldemort? What are you talking about?"

"Help you defeat Voldemort."

"I…", Harry was at a loss of words, but only for a moment. "I don't want you to fight against Voldemort for me", he said firmly.

"And what am I supposed to do? Watch how you get killed?"

"Do you think that I can't handle him?"

"Not in the current circumstances."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Just that I don't see how you'll have a chance with his latest plan."

Harry eyed her suspiciously.

"And you know what that plan is?"

"Yes."

"Then Dumbledore must know at least a bit about it too. He has his spies and he must have something…"

"He would have, but he only _thinks_ he knows the plan."

"But…"

"Listen, Harry. This time Voldemort has really come up with an almost foolproof plan. He's making Dumbledore and the Order think that he will attack the ministry and then later on Hogwarts. That's why most members of the Order - probably including Dumbledore himself - will be in London while Voldemort actually tries to take over Hogwarts."

"But Dumbledore must have some idea that it is diversionary."

"He doesn't. Snape doesn't. And almost all of the death eaters really think they will be attacking the ministry."

"And how do _you_ know then?"

"Because of Draco. He's supposed to let them in. And apart from him his aunt Belatrix and her husband are the only ones Voldemort has told what he's really planning."

Harry stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

"If… if that's true we have to go to Dumbledore immediately", he managed to stutter after some time.

"_No._"

"Why? Why are you telling me this if not to…"

"I'm telling you because you're the one Voldemort's after and we won't tell Dumbledore, because if he knows Voldemort _will_ somehow find it out. And then he'll know Draco betrayed him and then he'll kill him and his parents too."

"But Dumbledore…"

"No, Harry. You won't tell _anyone_. Swear it."

"Ellie…"

"_Swear it._ If you don't I'll have to remove it from your memory."

"You'll _what_?"

"You heard me. This is just too dangerous - especially for my best friend since I was four. If you do what I tell you though, there's a great chance that by the end of the school year Voldemort will be gone once and for all. So? Can you work with Slytherins?"

"And Malfoy won't tell?"

"Of course he won't. It was his idea in the first place."

Harry looked away. He didn't say anything for several minutes and Elena let him think it over. When he looked back at her he had a look of determination in his eyes.

"I swear I won't tell anyone. But you have to explain all this more fully to me."

"Naturally."

"_Now_."

"OK… Like I said Voldemort wants to make Dumbledore believe that he will attack the ministry and instead he'll come to Hogwarts with all the death eaters. He's keeping it a secret from almost everybody even his most faithful death eaters - except the Lestranges. He hasn't told Snape because even if he's really on Voldemort's side Dumbledore will find something out. And the most important thing in this plan is that Dumbledore thinks that Hogwarts's still safe. In the best case for Voldemort Dumbledore'll be in London when he attacks just like the rest of the order and Hogwarts will be really easy to take over. Draco'll let them in. He doesn't have the Dark Mark yet and our first plan was to go with Voldemort's and then Draco was going to run away and come to live with me. But now he has decided that he doesn't want to hide at all and wants to get Voldemort killed so that we can go on living peacefully. So, don't get offended or something like that, but Draco has never believed that you are capable of defeating Voldemort on your own. When you and I started to get closer, however, he realised it was a perfect opportunity to really defeat him once and for all. You being the 'Chosen One' and your knowledge about Dumbledore and the Order combined with Draco's knowledge about Voldemort's plans and the death eaters in general and my powers it shouldn't be too hard to get him killed."

Elena stopped to give him some time to contemplate what she had said. Harry stared at no particular direction before his eyes focused on her again.

"What powers?"

"Not exactly powers… magical abilities."

Now _that_ was very explanatory.

"I… I mean…", she sighed. "I can do very powerful magic, which Voldemort can't."

He stared at her in disbelieve.

"Don't look at me like that. And I don't mean dark magic. I'm talking about very ancient magic, which he wouldn't be capable of doing even if he knew about it."

"Why?"

"Because…", she sighed again. "You don't know anything about what wizards did before there were wands, do you?"

He blinked at her perplexed.

"There were wizards without wands?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Of course. The art of making a wand is very complicated. You don't really think that the early wizards just knew how to do them?"

"Probably not, but… What does this have to do with Voldemort?"

"Well, ancient wizards didn't use wands they used special stones to do spells. The stones were normally created to look like jewellery - rings with magical stones were most popular in ancient Greece and Rom. Those stones work quite differently from wands and unfortunately there isn't much we know about them. The main difference though is that they can be used only by left handed people, so all ancient wizards and witches were left handed. They were even fewer than today and magic wasn't something that runs in the family. That's why they used to live more or less together with muggles. Magic wasn't a question of blood and it was really complicated to educate young wizards and witches, because you had to find them first. So anyway at some point wizards from the Celtic tribes developed the art of wand making and that knowledge began to spread quite fast from there. By the time Hogwarts was founded there were hardly any of the 'old' wizards - Salazar Slytherin was one of the last known. Wands made performing magic much easier even though they aren't very easy to make. However, they can be used by every person with magical abilities."

Elena stopped to take a breath and Harry stared at her still having no idea what she was getting at.

"With wands there's no difference between right and left handed anymore. The difference becomes evident only if there is a right handed wizard with a wand and a left handed with a stone. The one with the stone would be more powerful, because the magic of the stone is… rawer and more natural. When you use a wand your magic flows through it and then out of the wand. The stones only help to collect your magic and then you can do whatever you want with it. No one knows how the stones were made or where they came from though and it's almost impossible to find one nowadays. Wands have become so 'natural' in the magical world so that this ancient history isn't even told at school. Many wizards have no idea about it and some even believe the stories about the stones are just legends. But they aren't. And a good left handed wizard with a stone should be able to defeat Voldemort in one on one fight, simply because his magic is stronger. It doesn't matter what dark magic Voldemort uses, because he is right handed - powerful or not."

Harry's eyes widened when he realised what she meant.

"You are left handed."

"I am and not _just_ good."

"But you said it's almost impossible to find a stone…"

Elena smirked holding her left hand in front of Harry showing him the silver ring on her ring finger. He knew she wore the ring almost all the time, but he hadn't paid any further attention to it.

"Salazar Slytherin's ring."

"Are you serious?"

"Deadly serious."

"But the stone's blue."

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's not like he made it himself. He inherited from someone - it's impossible to say how old it really is. After he died he left the ring to his daughter and it's been used by every person in my family who was left handed."

"And you can really do magic with it?"

"Mhm", she waved her hand imitating a wand movement and lightened a fire in the fire place. "It's not that special though. I can do pretty much everything you can with a wand and very few spells that can't be done with a wand. The problem is that ancient wizards didn't really wrote down what they could do. The few things I know are from a piece of parchment I found on one of my 'explorations' in one of our houses - you have no idea how much fun it is to go through all the stuff we have, most of it is at least a couple of centuries old. But anyway every spell I do with the ring is of course stronger than if I do it with my wand and theoretically no right handed wizard should be able to repel or undo my spells."

"But you can't really beat all the death eaters on your own even with that ring."

"Of course not and that's not the plan. You see I found another stone - in a museum in New York a couple of years ago. It was on a necklace attached to a book from ancient Egypt. It's absolutely brilliant. There are spells in the book and only it's age - over 5000 years - is really impressive."

"You didn't stole it from the museum, did you?"

"_No_. I bought it, well, technically it was my mum who bought it but that's not the point. It was only another artefact for the muggles in the museum therefore not _too_ expensive. They thought that it only described some strange ancient Egyptian's priest's practices. And one of them was actually so nice to make a very exact translation of it - for a bit more money of course. The spells from the book are amazing. There's one with which I can make a lot of protecting shields and they work against absolutely everything caused by a wand. However, it's not that easy to do any of them. The ancient Egyptian's magic was mostly mind work - no waving of anything, but _a lot _of concentration."

"And what spell are you going to use against the death eaters?"

"Uhm… it's kind of like Imperius."

"You said no dark magic."

"It's _not_ dark magic. It just has similar effects as the curse… and it's much more powerful."

"_More_ powerful than an Unforgivable?! And you still…"

"There's no law that forbids it's use…"

"Just because it's thousands of years old."

"That's not the point and it wasn't forbidden five thousand years ago either. It's described just like the shield charm."

"Ellie…"

"Are we going to discuss the Dark Arts or do you want to hear the rest of the plan?"

He frowned.

"The plan."

"Good. Where was I… the spell. I'll be able to control the death eaters long enough to get them out of the way."

"You'll try to control all of their minds?!"

"I will, but it won't be easy. I've never really tried more than six people at once when I was learning it. Draco will help me though - with distracting them and telling me who's who."

"_Lovely_. And what am I supposed to do?"

"You'll… I'm not sure. I don't know what would happen if I or someone else tried to kill Voldemort. You said Dumbledore told you that the prophecy doesn't have to be taken literally, but you do have this strange connection with Voldemort and maybe it really has to be you who kills him."

"Of course I'm going to do it."

"You really want to?"

"I have to."

"We could try something else first."

"I _will_ do it", he said crossing his arms.

"You'll cast _Avada Kedavra_ on him?"

"Why not?"

"Just a minute ago you didn't want me to use a spell similar to Imperius."

"That was different and I won't just stand there and watch _you_ do everything."

"Fine, if you insist - you'll be the one to kill him."

"That's very _generous_ of you."

"What's your problem?"

"Are you going to let him have his wand or just place him in front of me and make me kill a completely defenceless man?"

"Do you think _he_ would care about something like that?"

"I care."

"He doesn't deserve anything better."

"Do you want me to become a coward? Hiding behind my girlfriend's back?"

"Of course not, Harry. But this isn't about you. It's about getting rid of Voldemort and his followers. Would it hurt your ego so much if you're not the 'hero' for once?"

Harry froze staring bewildered at Elena.

"I… I, I never wanted to be a hero."

"That's what I thought, but you aren't acting like that in the moment. The point is to kill Voldemort - not who does it or how."

He turned his head to glare at the fire. How could she accuse him of wanting to be the 'hero'? He hated being the 'Chosen One'. He just didn't want to act like a coward… He almost jumped when he felt Elena's hand on one of his still crossed arms. She had moved closer to him, but he still didn't want to look at her.

"Harry, you've done so much already. You've risked your life several times. No one in their right mind would call you a coward. And it won't make anything you've done before seem less worthy if you let me do what I've planned", she moved closer so that her body was now pressed against his side lightly. "Besides no matter how much you ponder on everything, I'll do what I want in the end. I give you the chance to question my methods and give me ideas if you have some and I promise I'll really consider everything and maybe even do it. _Or_ you can continue to try to hinder my plans and then - in the worst case - I will remove everything I just told you from your memory. You know I'm capable of doing it and I don't care if… if it will affect our relationship", she finished quietly, but completely determined at the same time.

They stayed in silence for a while and then Harry turned his head slowly to her, a slight glare still on his face.

"I don't know what you've done to me, but I can't say 'no' to you, Elena. Do what you want to."

She looked surprised at the use of her full name or was it because he had agreed nevertheless? He didn't care he was angry at her, but he had no idea how to change the fact that she had him wrapped around her little finger. So he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He kissed her, hard and bruising - letting her feel all his frustration through the kiss. Elena was completely shocked at first, but then she kissed him back, fought back with the same aggression. Harry couldn't recall ever experiencing something like that kiss. It was intoxicating. It made him doubt that he would ever be able to be without her, without all the feelings she caused in him - good or bad. And it was quite ironic he reflected. After all the years he had spend fighting Slytherins, he had ended up at the mercy of Slytherin's heiress.


	33. No More Hiding

**33.**** No More Hiding**

Elena pushed him away breaking the kiss. She was breathing hard just like Harry and staring at him with wide eyes.

"You don't really want me to do it", she said after calming down a bit.

"Well… Of course not! But it's not like you're giving me another choice, are you?", he stated more than asked angrily.

She opened her mouth to say something, but instead stood up and walked to the fire place, her back to him.

"Why can't you understand it?"

"What exactly?"

"It's the best way to… kill him."

"No, it's not. It's _his_ way to take care of things! Sneaking behind people's backs and then also having someone else do your job for you - I'm not like that!", he saw her shoulders stiffen for a second, but it could have also been only the moving shadows from the fire. "But that doesn't matter, does it? You don't care anyway! And I don't understand why we're still arguing - I said that I would let you do it. Wasn't it that what you wanted?"

"I don't want you to agree just because… because…"

"Because you threatened to _modify_ my memory or…?"

"That was just to get sure that no one else will find out. You aren't exactly good at Occlumency."

"No, I'm not, but I'm sure you're brilliant at it", he almost spat the words.

Elena took in a sharp breath and then she turned around slowly. Her expression was completely calm - no anger, no determination, nothing.

"I am and I'm proud of it", she said slowly, her voice steady and it annoyed him even more how she had managed to hide all her feelings from one moment to the other. "Why would I want to have anyone reading my thoughts, memories, desires? Being able to hide your emotions doesn't make you emotionless - it makes you less vulnerable. Though I'm not sure if you'll ever understand that", she crossed her arms calmly. "And what would Dumbledore do if he couldn't use Snape's abilities to deceive even Voldemort himself? Although deceiving is against your Gryffindor nobility, isn't it?"

He glared up at her.

"He would find other ways to…"

"Spy on Voldemort? Because, _my love_, spying in itself is something that Slytherins do best - you need to be really _sneaky_ to be a good spy."

"So?", he stood up too - he hated when she was being like that. "Are you going to act all Slytherin now?"

"I'm not acting", she hissed. "And you seem to mistake not hating muggles with not being Slytherin. But I assure you that hating muggles doesn't have even the slightest to do with being truly Slytherin. You said that you aren't like Voldemort and I know that you aren't, but _I am_", she took a step towards him, staring up with still completely calm eyes. "_'__Those cunning folks use any means / to achieve their ends.__'_", she recited imitating the hat's voice almost perfectly, "_only_ the goal's different."

Then she stepped away, her eyes still fixed on his angered ones.

"Think about it, we'll talk tomorrow."

With that Elena turned on her heals and headed for the door. When her hand touched the door handle she halted for a second, but it was over as fast as it had appeared and before he knew it she had already closed it behind her. Harry, however, continued to glare daggers at the door for a while. He had the strong urge to throw something at it, but unfortunately nothing at hand. Who the hell did she think she was leaving him just like that?!

* * *

Harry sat up with a start. His heart was racing and he could feel sweat running down his forehead. The nightmare had been so real and the fact that he hadn't had any about Voldemort in a while made it even worse. Of all the things Elena had told him the previous evening there was one thing that he just couldn't get out of his mind.

After some consideration he had decided to stay in her room for the night. Going back to Gryffindor tower meant almost certainly seeing Ron - not that he wanted to see Elena much more after their… whatever it was, but he had rightly assumed that she wasn't going to come back. And so that had lead him to his current state - namely sitting on her bed and gasping for air. He had had great problems falling asleep and after he did he had to have a damn nightmare about her turning into Voldemort! Harry lay back down trying to calm himself though it wasn't easy with her words echoing in his head constantly. _I am._ She had really told him that she was like Voldemort, but it wasn't just that that was seriously freaking him out - it was her tone when she had said it. There hadn't been any anger, frustration or even… proud or something of the sort. No. She had been so bloody calm as if she had been telling him about her favourite colour. He had honestly known that she could be evil, but… but had he been wrong to assume that deep down she was good? For the life of him he couldn't think of any reason why she wanted to kill Voldemort so badly. If he had understood her correctly she had actually hinted that she was ready to sacrifice their relationship in order to do it. But _why_? She had also mentioned that she hadn't meant to do anything about him in the first place. Not that that was really comforting, but it made him wonder what had changed. Surely their relationship could have become a reason for her to want to fight Voldemort, but he had a feeling that she wanted to kill him so badly that there was absolutely _nothing_ that could stop her. What was the reason for that desire? He could only imagine that she must have started despising him, however, he didn't have even the slightest idea why. And there was also the possibility that she… that she just wanted to do it like that, because she was truly like that - like _him_. But this couldn't be, it couldn't! There had to be something else. He couldn't have been so wrong when judging her character.

Harry heard the door open quietly. He turned his head in the direction, but the room was so dark that he couldn't see anything. He could hear though - a slow movement towards him. It stopped at the edge of the bed and he could make out her outlines very faintly. Elena didn't move further and after a while he realised that she probably thought that he was asleep.

"Couldn't sleep either, could you?", he asked quietly.

She took a step back probably surprised that he was awake and then whispered a very quiet 'No'. He could only see her as shadow, but he could actually feel her hesitation. A image of how she must be biting her lip right now appeared before his eyes although it also made him slightly confused. After the way she had acted just a couple of hours ago it was strange to 'see' her so hesitant. She stood there for a minute or so and then she finally climbed on the bed sitting next to him. She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I would never… You know I hate it when someone tells me what to do and I don't really want to force other people to do things they don't want to either. But this… it's… I can't bear even the thought of something bad happening to you…"

Her voice was trembling and Harry sat up, moving just a bit closer to her, but he didn't say anything.

"I… I know I'm being very selfish, but… I can't help it. I _need_ to make sure that you'll be safe… now matter how", she let out a strangled sob and his hand reached to caress her cheek automatically. It was wet - she must have been crying all the time, but he hadn't noticed it in the dark. "You're… you're so selfless and brave and I… am not, never was - just…"

"But you're…"

She shook her head firmly.

"I'm not brave. I just know what I can do and that happens to be more than the average. But I would never do something which is more likely to go wrong than not… Had I been in your place in any of your… your encounters with him the wizarding world would have gone to hell a long time ago… Now, however, I-I know that I can do it so that no one gets hurt… apart from the death eaters… I… you have to let me do it, _please_, Harry…"

She had started shaking all over in attempt to stop herself from crying loudly. Harry put his arms around her, pulling her to him.

"Ellie, don't cry", he whispered softly.

"I can't…stop…", she mumbled against his neck. "I'm sorry… I just… keep imagining you…"

She gave a loud sob this time and he hugged her tighter. Then he lay back down pulling her with him. He caressed her back soothingly while she cried silently clinging onto him. After a very long time her breathing started to even and she finally fell asleep. Harry kissed the top of her head before moving them both in a more comfortable position carefully. He, however, couldn't go to sleep for even longer. He couldn't stop thinking and it was only shortly before he fell asleep that he came to a decision.

* * *

Harry sat at the couch table having breakfast. Elena was still asleep and he kept glancing over at the bed. He couldn't really see more than a mess of black hair, but he couldn't stop himself. He wondered when she was finally going to wake up. He really needed to talk with her, but he didn't want to wake her.

Elena stirred a bit. Harry put his tea cup back on the table fixing his eyes on her. After a while she moved again and this time he was sure that she was awaking. And after another minute she sat up slowly, yawing. She crawled to the edge of the bed still half a asleep and completely oblivious to Harry's presence. She got up and started walking towards the bathroom.

"Good morning", he decided to say at last.

She stopped dead and looked at him but only for a moment.

"Morning."

Elena took another step towards the bathroom, but then she changed the direction. She walked to her wardrobe, took some clothes out and disappeared into the bathroom without another word. He wrinkled his nose slightly before he returned to his breakfast.

When she came out again he had already finished eating. She was fully clothed, but her hair was still a mess and so Harry followed her with his eyes when she walked to the big mirror next to the wardrobe. She took her comb and started brushing her hair. He watched silently as her pale fingers worked to untangle the black curls. After she was done she looked around searching for her wand he supposed. She didn't found it and after a moment of hesitation she waved her left hand and her hair began to braid itself. That got Harry out of his trance and he stood up.

"Ellie?"

She whirled around to look at him and her hair stopped moving only half done. He walked to her, stopping right in front of her. Elena starred up at him and he stared back. He wasn't sure how exactly to start so he opted for telling her directly.

"Ellie, I… I want to help you with that plan of yours."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

He sighed.

"Yes, I am. I've been thinking about it almost the whole night. And I came to the conclusion that it would be… a bit ridiculous of me to try to stop you. Not only because you're more powerful and I wouldn't really have a chance, but also because you're right. The most important thing is to get rid of him once and for all - not how it'll happen. Though I trust you not to be too cruel?", she nodded her eyes fixed on his. He reached behind her and started undoing her braid. "_And_ I don't want you to be like yesterday with me. I do know that you're a true Slytherin and everything that comes with it, but you don't have to hide your emotions from _me_. You should tell me how you fell right away and not… in the middle of the night. OK? It doesn't matter if it's really bad or not - I can take it."

Elena nodded again, still looking uncertain though. He spread her hair so that it was falling around her just the way he liked and then he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you going to persuade me otherwise now or something like that?"

"No, I…", she looked down at her feet. "I…", she sighed looking back at him. "To be honest I wouldn't have cared at all just a couple of months ago. I know it's the best thing to do - ethical or not. But _now_ all I can think about is what you're going to say about it and it's driving me crazy - it's completely irrational."

"Feelings tend to be irrational."

She crossed her arms.

"Yeah and that's why I hate them."

He couldn't help but chuckle earning himself a glare.

"You sound like a five year old who explains why the vegetables are _just_ so terrible."

"I don't and you're stupid."

"Now _that_ was really mature."

Elena punched his stomach.

"Ouch!", he shouted although it hadn't really hurt. He was actually enjoying himself - after the fright she had given him the previous evening it was nice to have her back to normal.

"You want me to be mature? Fine", she straightened up, her expression changing to something that reminded him strongly of McGonagall. "Now that we've cleared this, we can return to the more urgent issues."

He looked at her confused and she rolled her eyes.

"The N.E.W.T.s."

"Oh… those…", then a thought struck him. "So Voldemort'll attack after the exams?"

"Yes, during the dance."

"The dance?"

"That's what I said, wasn't it? This is also the main reason why I wanted you to go alone."

"It was…? Wait a minute. How long exactly have you been planning all this?"

"Since we started to get closer. Being your girlfriend goes pretty much hand in hand with fighting Voldemort and I don't like doing such things without a proper plan. If you went to the dance with any girl she would be in great danger when he shows up. And if we went together it would cause even more trouble. If Voldemort hears of anything wrong around Draco - including his 'girlfriend' going out with _Harry Potter_ all of a sudden - he would at least change his plans and we can't risk that. You have no idea how much I would have loved to go with you, dance with you… but we can't. I really wished we could let everybody know that we're together and stop hiding. We could walk around holding hands, kiss in the hallways, go to Hogsmead without the invisibility cloak…"

"You could sit with me on the Gryffindor table", he added mockingly.

She grinned.

"Only if it's on your lap and I'm aloud to snog you senseless."

"In front of _everybody_ in the Great Hall?"

"That's exactly the point, love. And you could sit with me on the Slytherin table too."

He laughed.

"The Slytherins would kill me if I as much as dared to come near it."

"And you think _your_ house mates would be delighted to having me on their table? After the last quidditch game?"

"I'm afraid they wouldn't. But you forgot something, although I don't think it would be good if we did that in public."

"What?"

He looked down at her seriously.

"Shagging. And now that I think about it, it would be nice if we did it right now."

He was really surprised that he hadn't blushed at all while he said it. She was staring at him in complete disbelieve and he would have laughed if he wasn't afraid that she would hit him again and this time it wouldn't be harmless. Elena, however, grinned after overcoming the shock. He could only blink confused before she tiptoed and kissed him. It wasn't just a kiss though - it set him on fire. He had meant it as a joke, but now that she was kissing him like that. They hadn't in… well, long enough in his opinion. She broke away looking into his dazed eyes.

"Maybe tonight. If we finish everything on time."

She took a step back intending to walk away, but Harry caught her arm and pulled her to him.

"Harry…?"

He gave her a peck on the lips to silence her and then started trailing kisses down her jaw and neck.

"_Harry._"

She tried to push him away, but his arms held her tightly. His lips reached the spot behind her ear that he knew could drive her crazy.

"Harry…"

This time it was more of a moan than anything else - he had her. Her hands moved from his chest, around his neck and into his hair and he smirked against her skin.

* * *

At dinner Harry was sitting at one end of the Gryffindor table reading his Charms textbook and absently putting food into his mouth from time to time. Elena had sent him up saying that it wouldn't be good if no one saw him for over a day. And after what he had coaxed into doing that morning she had also warned him that if he didn't do all the studying he had had planned till that evening she would make him sleep on the couch. He wasn't sure if she had been completely serious, but he was determined not to find it out. Besides what they had done earlier was more than worthy a bit of studying.

"Hey Harry!"

He looked up as Hermione sat next to him.

"Hi!"

He looked around nervously and she grinned slightly.

"Ron's still in the common room. I told him that he couldn't come down until he does his Herbology essay. That won't be for a while though so we can talk in peace."

Harry nodded closing his book.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, fine… I was with - you know - studying… most of the time."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you sure you're learning enough? We have just two weeks till the N.E.W.T.s and…"

"I know, Hermione. And trust me I'm doing more than enough. She's almost as… studious as you. She would never let me do nothing."

"Yeah, well, anyway I… I decided to talk to Ron about your fight tomorrow. He has had enough time to calm down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes and I want to have it done as soon as possible. We should really be concentrating only on the N.E.W.T.s and not on stupid fights right now."

"I know and I'm sorry. I…"

She shook her head.

"It's not just your fault. Ron can be so… so…", she didn't finish just sighed heavily.

"Hermione, you don't really have to do it. I… I don't want you to risk your relationship for me."

"Don't be silly, Harry. We've had so many fights - one more or less isn't going to change anything."

"Still…"

"Seriously, I know what to do with him. And if it works the way I think it will we won't even argue much. I just wanted to tell you."

"OK."

Hermione smiled encouragingly at him before she stood up again.

"See you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. Good luck."

"Thanks and don't stop studying!"

He rolled his eyes smiling.

"I won't."


	34. Subtle Persuasion

**34. Subtle Persuasion**

Harry tossed his Potions textbook a bit too forcefully at the table so that it ended up falling on the other side. He didn't care though. He stretched and then leaned back on the couch closing his eyes. It was Sunday and he and Elena had just finished going through Potions. _And_ as far as he was concerned he didn't want to hear anything about the subject ever again.

"Harry, I've been thinking…", she said after a while.

"Really? And I'm almost sure that my brain's gone useless."

She rolled her eyes.

"Not about school about the last couple of days", he straightened up wondering if _his_ plan was already working. "I haven't been acting like myself lately and I wanted to apologise to you. The problem was that I'm used to doing and getting everything I want. My mum normally lets me do what I want. Draco does what I tell him anyway. Maybe the nearest to the current situation is my friendship with Dion, because I do care what she thinks, but since we agree on almost everything we don't really argue. You and I, however, disagree on several points and…"

"We have to learn to cope with it, because I don't think either of us would go as far as to change our views completely."

"No. That would be really terrible, but I suppose compromising wouldn't hurt from time to time. And this time you agreed with me even though your opinion's pretty different from mine. I'm not sure why exactly you did it - you should be angry with me especially after everything I said on Friday."

"I _was_ angry and pretty near to breaking a couple of your things. Although after kicking the couch and the pain in my foot afterwards I decided that physical force wasn't going to make me feel better."

She smiled faintly.

"You could have used your wand."

"Yeah, unfortunately I didn't think about that then… Anyway that was Friday - I calmed down and now I'm not at all angry at you."

"You sure you don't want to break anything now?"

"No. Unless you plan on telling me something bad again."

Elena shook her head firmly.

"At least I don't think it is", she looked down and started to poke the couch with her forefinger. "I… I've been thinking how to make you feel better…"

Harry had to suppress a smirk. He knew it. He knew that given the time she would feel guilty - especially after he had acted so nice and understanding towards her. He also knew that it _wasn't_ nice to use the fact, that deep down she still felt that he was too good for her, to get what he wanted. But who cared? He wasn't _that_ good after all. How many times had people accused him of being evil?

"So I, uhm, decided what you can do during Voldemort's attack."

"What?"

"If you want to you can be the one to distract him. You know talk to him while I take care of the death eaters. You've done that a couple of times already."

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean. And what exactly are you going to do with the death eaters in the mean time?"

"I'll use the spell I told you about to make most of them gather together as unobtrusively as possible. And then I'll make a sort of magical cage around them. That way they'll stay safely in it and be ready to be send to Azkaban at any time. Afterwards I'll continue with his most faithful death eaters, for whom prison wouldn't be enough."

He raised his eyebrows at her, but she returned the gesture.

"What? Do you really think it would affect Bellatrix Lestrange the slightest if she was sent back to Azkaban?"

"No, but how do you know which of them are like her?"

"Draco knows it."

He nodded slowly.

"And Voldemort?"

"I haven't changed my mind about him."

"Why do you want to kill him like that?"

"Because he deserves it. He isn't… he isn't really human anymore. He has destroyed so many lives and treating him like any random 'bad guy' just wouldn't be…"

"Fair?"

"Exactly. He's far beyond the point of forgiveness or remorse. Why shouldn't he be treated the way he treats everybody else? It would serve him right to feel for once what he has been doing to others."

Harry couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Why are you smiling?", she asked confused.

"Because you just strengthened my impression that - no matter what you say - you're not like him. You just react to his behaviour."

She shook her head in disbelieve.

"I told you that I'm evil, that…"

"Yes, we already cleared _that_. But you have this necklace for a while now, right?", she nodded. "When was the last time you used it?"

"The last time? It was…uh…", to Harry's amazement she blushed deeply red. "It was… I used it to prevent Rush from realising that I was skipping classes… the time when I was trying to avoid you completely…"

He just starred at her for a while totally forgetting what they had been talking about in the first place. Then he shook his head trying to gather his thoughts again.

"Uhm, well… Do you use it often?"

"Not really. Mostly when I'm very annoyed and not able to think of anything better."

"Why not? You could do almost anything with it without the slightest problem?"

"Yes, but that would be too easy and absolutely boring."

"And would you torture and kill for fun?"

She looked at him shocked.

"Of course not! That's just barbaric. What are you getting at?"

He smiled innocently.

"Just proving my point, love. You're not like him."

Elena crossed her arms frowning.

"Are you playing my psychologist now?"

"No, I'm not that good. But I think that I'm finally beginning to truly understand you and all those different moods of yours, which caused me so many head aches the last couple of months."

"Oh, well… good for you I suppose…"

Harry smiled brightly at her and she stared at him astonished.

"Was it just that that you wanted to tell me?", he asked after a minute. "Because I wanted to ask you something too."

"Ask."

"Can I tell Hermione and… Ron - if we get over our fight - about all this?"

She opened her mouth and he was sure that she wanted to say 'no', but she didn't. Instead she closed it and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"If you think that it's necessary, but _no one _else. Your friends'll also have to act as if they didn't know anything. I don't want Voldemort getting suspicious while I'm still busy with the death eaters. It could easily ruin the whole plan. I won't be able to do anything while I'm performing the Egyptian spell. And actually I won't really register anything that happens around me so if someone notices and tries to attack me…"

"You didn't tell me that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself while you do it!"

"I told you it needed a lot of concentration and that's what I've got Draco for. He'll make sure to block any spells or curses directed at me while I do it. Besides it won't matter anyway if you and your friends do your job right."

"But what if something goes wrong and you get hurt or… or even _killed_… I mean I… you can't…", his eyes were wide and for a moment he wished to lock her in her room and not let her out until Voldemort was dead.

"Nothing'll happen to me. _Really_. I only meant that it would make things more complicated."

"But…

"I swear that I'll be fine. It's not like I want to get myself into trouble as desperately as you do most of the time."

"I don't…"

"Forget about what I just said, Harry, OK? Everything will go just as it should. And there's more I wanted to talk with you about."

He sighed.

"What?"

"Do you have anything in particular in mind for Pettigrew?"

"Wormtail? I don't know. We can't let him get away this time though."

"He won't get away, but what I've been thinking is that if you don't know what to do with him I would like to send him to my mum. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see him again. But you have time to think about it of course."

"What would she do to him?"

"I don't know, but it won't be nice."

He shrugged.

"You can do that. I'm not really in the mood of even thinking about him."

Elena nodded and they fell silent for a while. Harry looked at her wondering if he should ask already. After all the worst thing that could happen was that she said 'no'.

"Ellie, there's something I'd like to do."

"What is it?"

"I want to duel with Voldemort."

She sighed heavily.

"You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to, I need to do it. Not for the wizarding world, but for… for myself. After all he has done to me I need it to be able to really conclude with him. Please, Ellie."

She looked away and didn't say anything for some time.

"I'll think about it, but I can't promise anything."

"That'll do for now. Are we finished?"

She nodded absently still not looking at him.

"Then I think I'll take a walk and afterwards we can continue with Transfiguration. OK?"

She nodded again. Harry smiled slightly and stood up. He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her cheeks to turn her head to him. He leaned and kissed her lips lightly.

"I love you, my Slytherin princess."

That brought her out of her trance and she stared at him confused.

"Slytherin princess?"

"Yes, I mean you are, aren't you? Or do you prefer queen?"

She blushed and he wished he could smirk, but instead he continued to smile innocently.

"No… I… If you like it - princess's fine."

"I like it. I won't be long - just stretching my legs a bit."

He kissed the top of her head and walked out of the room lazily. Before he closed the door he glanced at her one last time. Elena was still sitting on the couch and staring in front of her perplexed. This time he smirked.

* * *

After dinner Harry headed to Gryffindor tower and more precisely to his dormitory, like Hermione had told him. She hadn't tried to contact him further, which could only mean that Ron was at least ready to talk. He sighed running a hand through his hair. Hopefully Ron wouldn't be in an aggressive mood or something like that, because he was fed up with fighting. Fighting with his friends, with Elena and most of all with Voldemort. He wondered if he would really be free from _him_ in three weeks time. Elena had assured him that everything was going to be fine, but… he just couldn't shook the feeling that something was going to go wrong. He had no idea why and he tried his hardest to ignore that feeling - it was the last thing he wanted to worry about in the moment. Now it was all about Ron. Harry wasn't sure what he wanted to tell his best friend. He hardly felt any anger anymore. If Ron decided to act like he had the last time they had talked, however, he was surely not going to just stand there and listen. On the other hand if he apologised in earnest Harry was more than willing to forgive him. It all depended on what Ron was going to do.

Harry entered his dorm and saw Hermione standing by Ron's bed. Ron was sitting on it looking down. She turned to Harry when she heard the door open and smiled at him.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Hermione."

"Did you have a nice day?"

"If you call studying Potions most of the time nice - than yes, I did."

She smiled sympathetically at him and glanced at Ron. He didn't move and remained sitting as still as a statue. Harry eyed him deciding that it was a good sign that he hadn't said anything so far. Hermione kicked his leg lightly and Ron sighed standing up. He continued to look down at his shoes though. He sighed again and then again and after the fourth sigh - just as Harry decided to say something himself - Ron opened his mouth.

"I… I'm really sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have said all those things to you or insulted your… your girlfriend. It was just the quidditch cup and I…"

This time Harry sighed relieved.

"I know, Ron. It's OK, just don't do it ever again."

Ron looked up a bit surprised.

"I won't, I swear. Don't worry about that. Though… I still can insult Malfoy, can't I?"

Harry grinned slightly.

"Sure, but if I was you, I wouldn't do it when Ellie's around. She's much better at doing magic than at flying."

"That sounds scary", Ron grinned too.

"It is."

"How do you handle her?"

"'Handle her', Ron?", Hermione cut in frowning at him.

"Ahm… I meant…"

"That's a men's thing, Hermione, you wouldn't understand", Harry said earning himself a frown too.

"A _men's_ thing?", she shook her head. "Anyway, why don't we start to study already?"

Both boys looked at her in disbelieve.

"We have _only_ two weeks till the N.E.W.T.s", she informed them a bit hysterically.

"Right, Hermione, but before that I… I would like to tell you a couple of things. It's really important."

"More important than the exams?"

"Yes", Harry swallowed. "It's about Voldemort."

* * *

Much later that evening Harry decided that he still preferred to sleep in Elena's room even though he didn't have to avoid Ron anymore. So after Hermione had decided that they were allowed to stop studying and go to bed he headed for the dungeons. He found Elena sitting on the couch in her pyjamas completely engrossed in a massive book - one of her History of Magic books he supposed. He let her be and proceeded to get ready for bed. When he was finished she still hadn't moved except to turn over the pages. Harry sighed and walked slowly to her. He took the book out of her hands and let it fall on the couch. Elena raised her eyebrows at him, but he just grinned. He leaned and took her in his arms.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

She sounded a bit annoyed though thankfully she didn't try to get free. He wasn't quite sure if he was strong enough not to drop her if she did.

"Already brushed your teeth?", he asked completely ignoring her question.

"A while ago, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"Well", he grinned again putting her on the bed careful not to fall over himself, "It's time to go to bed. Just wanted to be sure you're ready."

"You've gone crazy", she crossed her arms, but didn't move to get up again.

"I'm not. We have classes tomorrow and it's already past midnight."

He turned off the lights and slipped into the bed throwing the covers over himself and Elena. He pulled her to him burring his face in her hair, her arms, however, were still crossed.

"Won't you at least tell me what happened?", she asked.

"Ron apologised and we're friends again. He doesn't hate you anymore - now he's just a bit scared of you. I'll tell you the details tomorrow."

"Why is he scared of me?"

"I told him that you were better at magic than at flying."

She chuckled.

"You did?"

"Yeah. It's true, isn't it?"

"Mhm", she moved to a more comfortable position and he kissed her head before closing his eyes.

"Night, princess."

"Night."

A couple of minutes later Harry was on the verge of falling asleep when he felt her move slightly in his arms.

"Harry?"

"Go to sleep."

"Fine. I won't tell you what I decided about your fight with Voldemort."

At once all the sleepiness was gone.

"What?"

"Can't tell you, you said…"

"_Ellie_."

She snuggled closer.

"You can do it if it means so much to you."

"Really?"

"Yes, but on two conditions. First you'll let me teach you a couple of more advanced things about duelling. We'll use the week between the end of the N.E.W.T.s and the dance."

"Dark magic?"

"Maybe a bit. I haven't thought about that yet and it would be helpful if you tell me all about your actual fights with him. And you'll surely have to learn to do 'Avada Kedavra'. It wouldn't do if you first try it while in a fight with him."

"OK. But I don't really want to do any other dark spells - only as a last resort."

"_I know_."

"And second?"

"You'll fight with him, but I won't let him kill you. If you're in danger of getting killed I'll step in."

"Only if there's really nothing I could do to stop him."

"We can discuss when exactly later. Deal?"

"Deal."

Harry smiled brightly in the darkness. Elena was right. Sometimes it was much better to think before you acted - especially when it came to dealing with your girlfriend.

* * *

Two days later Harry was reading his Herbology notes and sitting on Elena's couch when the door to Slytherin's common room opened. Malfoy stepped in and looked around.

"She went to the library", Harry told him turning back to his notes.

"Oh. I wanted to ask something about Arthimancy… uhm… Would you tell her to come to see me when she comes back?"

"Sure."

Harry wasn't looking, but he heard Malfoy walk away. After two steps though he stopped.

"How on earth did you persuade her to let you fight with _him_? She was absolutely determined to keep you as far away from him as possible."

Harry smirked down at his notes.

"Why are you so surprised? I thought you knew how to make her do things she's determined to never do?"

Malfoy didn't say anything for a few moments and then he laughed.

"I've been underestimating you, Potter. Who would've thought you could manipulate your own girlfriend?"

Harry looked up.

"No word to Ellie."

Malfoy waved his hand.

"Of course. I have enough to do and without her being angry again. Though I have no idea why you want to fight with him so badly."

"That's between him and me."

He rolled his eyes.

"You're crazy."

Malfoy turned to the door and Harry to his notes again. He had an idea, however, and looked back up.

"Malfoy?"

He stopped an eyebrow raised at Harry.

"Why did _you_ decide to help kill Voldemort?"

To Harry's surprise the other boy didn't flinch at the name.

"Didn't she tell you?"

"She said only that you decided that you didn't want to hide. Not why though."

"And I thought she might tell you to humiliate me."

"Why? Is it that bad?"

Malfoy didn't say anything and just stood there eyeing Harry warily.

"I could always ask Ellie you know."

The Slytherin sighed.

"Well, I suppose that you're going to find it out anyway at some point so… I changed my mind because of my girlfriend."

Harry looked at him confused.

"She's a muggle."

Before the words could sink in Malfoy walked out of the room and Harry was left staring at the door his mouth hanging open. When Elena came back he was still in the same state. Some of his Herbology notes had slipped from his lap to the ground and she reached to collect them before she sat next to him.

"Are you OK, love?"

He turned to her still a bit dazed.

"Yeah, just… Malfoy's girlfriend's a _muggle_?!"

She stared at him shocked.

"How… How do you know?"

"He was here a couple of minutes ago and he said it and… A muggle?!"

"Yes", she smirked. "Ironic isn't it?"

He could only nod in disbelieve and she sighed.

"Her name is Estefania. Dion's favourite cousin and she knows about our world. We know each other since we were small, we played together when I and Draco visited Dion. A couple of years ago though her parents moved to Los Angeles and we didn't see each other again till last summer. And then Draco fell for her the moment he saw her. He was really pathetic in the beginning, but she thought it was sweet for some reason… So anyway they came together and she managed to persuade her parents to let her go to college in London. If Draco had come to me to hide, he would have had to live in Bulgaria and it wouldn't have worked very good. Not to mention what his dear aunt would do if she found out."

"And his parents?"

"They aren't that bad and he's the only heir - it's not like they could seriously disown him. Bellatrix on the other hand doesn't care about such things."

"Aha…"

"It's not that strange, Harry. I mean true she isn't a witch, but she looks good, her parents are quite rich, she's slightly arrogant and sneaky, which is only right for Draco, and she's still nice enough nevertheless. If she had magical abilities his parents wouldn't have had any reason not to like her."

"But she hasn't."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"So what? And why did Draco tell you about her anyway?"

"I asked why he changed his mind about Voldemort."

"Hm", she smirked. "Are you two going to be friends now?"

"_No._ We're just being civil towards each other - nothing more."

"Oh, if you ask me that's more than enough for the time being. How's Herbology going?"


	35. AN

**A/N:** I'm so sorry that I haven't updated yet, but I'm still writting. It's really hard since it's the end. But I'll update it all till the end of this week or next week (latest).


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